Former chief statistician awarded for pursuing ‘integrity’ in Greek data

Greece’s former statistics chief Andreas Georgiou was awarded a special commendation for “upholding of the highest professional standards” in producing the country’s statistics and “in the pursuit of integrity of statistical systems,” the International Statistical Institute (ISI) said in a press release.

The awarding ceremony was held during a special meeting on “National Statistical Offices’ Professional Independence: Threats and Responses” ahead of the International Association for Official Statistics’ Conference in Paris this week.

“During his presidency at ELSTAT, Andreas Georgiou committed himself to ensuring that the production of all official statistics in Greece should be undertaken in strict conformity with international and European statistical principles and standards,” the ISI said in its press release.

“In doing so, he faced extraordinary obstacles and has been subjected to innumerable challenges and court proceedings. This special commendation acknowledges his competency and strength in the face of adversity, his commitment to the production of high quality and trustworthy official statistics and his advocacy for the improvement, integrity and independence of official statistics,” it added.

The commendation was presented to Georgiou by the International Statistical Institute (ISI), the Royal Statistical Society (RSS), the American Statistical Association (ASA), the International Association for Official Statistics (IAOS), the Federation of European National Statistical Societies (FENStatS), the Societe Francaise de Statistique (SFdS).