Costas Simitis to receive honorary fellowship from LSE

Greece’s former socialist prime minister Costas Simitis will be awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) at a ceremony on 8 December in Athens, the university announced.

“The former Prime Minister of Greece and LSE alumnus will be recognized for his exemplary contributions to society,” LSE said in a press release on Thursday.

“With the award of Honorary Fellow, Dr Simitis will join the ranks of those celebrated by LSE for their outstanding contributions to the School and its global community by going above and beyond reasonable expectations over a sustained period of time,” it added.

Among those recognised with this distinguished award are the Rt Hon Lord Beveridge, Professor Sir Karl Popper, Sir Arthur Lewis, Professor Amartya Sen and Professor Friedrich Hayek.

Simitis became prime minister of Greece in 1996 and held office until 2004, during which time he was the leader of Socialist PASOK. While in office, Simitis’ most notable achievements included a wide-ranging modernization project and his oversight of Greece’s adoption of the euro. “His leadership was widely admired throughout the EU for its seriousness, reformism, and personal integrity,” LSE commented.

Before becoming prime minister, he served as Minister of Agriculture, Minister of National Economy, Minister of Education & Religious Affairs, Minister of Energy, Industry, Technology and Trade.

Simitis has also been a long-term supporter of the School and of the Alumni Association in Greece. It was under his aegis that the endowment for the Eleftherios Venizelos Chair in Contemporary Greek Studies at LSE was created. The Chair is based within the LSE European Institute and the Hellenic Observatory, an internationally recognized research center on contemporary Greece and Cyprus, which develops academic and policy-related research; organises conferences, seminars and workshops; and supports academic exchange through visiting fellowships and internships.

The award will be conferred by Professor Kevin Featherstone, Director of the Hellenic Observatory, and honorary Greek citizen.

“My studies at LSE influenced my political thought and vision. To be awarded the Honorary Fellowship by LSE is the culmination of a long-standing relation to the institution. On top of that, I am honored to be awarded by one of the leading academic institutions in the world,” Simitis said on the honor.

Featherstone said that “LSE has long had a very special relationship with Greece, reflected in its student recruitment, the eminence in public life and business of its graduates, and the development of the Hellenic Observatory.”

“It is very fitting, then, that the School honours one of its most high-profile Greek alumni. Costas Simitis is widely respected for his achievements, both in Greece and internationally, and the LSE is rightly proud that he is part of our wider community.  It is also a great personal honour for me to be asked to confer this award on such a statesman,” he added.