He was a close associate of Constantine Karamanlis
THE Petros MolyviatisA distinguished Greek diplomat and politician, died today, Sunday, May 4, 2025, at the age of 97, leaving behind an important footprint in the country’s foreign policy.
Petros Moliviatis ended up at Evangelismos Hospital where he was admitted yesterday.
Petros Molyviatis was born in Chios on June 12, 1928 and was a diplomat and politician. A close associate of the Prime Minister and President of the Republic Constantine Karamanlis for decades and has been a lifelong chairman of the Board of Directors of the “Constantine Karamanlis” Foundation since 1983.
He was three times the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece (2004-2006, 2012 and 2015).
He was Director of the Prime Minister’s Political Bureau (1974-1980), Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic (1980-1985 and 1990-1995) and a Member of the New Democracy 1996-2000.
He studied Law at the EKPA and pursued a career in the diplomatic corps, with a term of office: at the permanent delegations of Greece at the UN headquarters in New York and NATO headquarters in Brussels, at the Greek embassies of Moscow and Ankara.
More specifically:
In 1956, Petros Molyviatis was introduced to the diplomatic corps where he served in the UN Permanent Representation, to the embassies of Moscow, Pretoria and Ankara as well as the NATO permanent delegation in Brussels.
During the 1980-1985 and 1990-1995 periods, during the term of Constantine Karamanlis in the high office, he was Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic.
In September 1996, he was elected MP with the ND ballot for the first time.
In January 2003, he was elected Coordinator of the ND National Defense and Foreign Affairs Affairs in place of Dora Bakoyannis, who assumed the duties of Mayor of Athens.
In March 2004, he took over for the first time a government office as a foreign minister in the government of Kostas Karamanlis.
In August 2007, he was appointed President of the Special Emergency Fund, which was founded shortly after the devastating fires in the Peloponnese and Euboea.
In March 2008, he was awarded the Pushkin Medal of the Russian Republic.
In May 2012, he assumed the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
On August 28, 2015, he took over as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Basilica Thanos official.
In 2005, along with then Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, they proposed a solution for the Macedonian nomenclature, proposing the use of the name “Republic of Macedonia-Skopia” internationally, without changing the country’s constitutional name.
Petros Molyviatis was married to Niovi Christakis and had two children. His daughter, Laura, was the wife of businessman and banker Stelios Panagopoulos.
Its loss leaves a significant gap in the Greek political scene, as there was a personality with broader acceptance and decisive contribution to the country’s foreign policy.