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Makis Voridis

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Makis Voridis
Μάκης Βορίδης
Voridis in 2019
Minister for the Interior
In office
5 January 2021 – 23 April 2023
Prime MinisterKyriakos Mitsotakis
Preceded byTakis Theodorikakos
Succeeded byCalliope Spanou
Minister for Rural Development and Food
In office
9 July 2019 – 5 January 2021
Prime MinisterKyriakos Mitsotakis
Preceded byStavros Arachovitis
Succeeded bySpilios Livanos
Minister for Health
In office
10 June 2014 – 27 January 2015
Prime MinisterAntonis Samaras
Preceded byAdonis Georgiadis
Succeeded byPanagiotis Kouroumblis (Health and Social Security)
Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Networks
In office
11 November 2011 – 17 May 2012
Prime MinisterLucas Papademos
Preceded byGiannis Ragousis
Succeeded bySimos Simopoulos
Minister of the State
Incumbent
Assumed office
27 June 2023
Preceded byVasileios Skoures
Personal details
Born (1964-08-23) 23 August 1964 (age 60)
Athens, Kingdom of Greece
Political partyNew Democracy (2012–present)
Popular Orthodox Rally (2005–2012)
Hellenic Front (1994–2005)
National Political Union (1984–1990)
SpouseDanai Michelakos
ChildrenChristos
Alma materUniversity of Athens
University College London
WebsiteOfficial website

Mavroudis (Makis) Voridis (Greek: Μαυρουδής (Μάκης) Χρήστου Βορίδης; born 23 August 1964) is a Greek politician and lawyer. His previous involvement with far-right[1][2][3] rhetoric and past association with dictator Georgios Papadopoulos[4] has made him a controversial figure in Greek politics.

A member of the Hellenic Parliament for New Democracy since 2012, he served as the Minister for the Interior in the Cabinet of Kyriakos Mitsotakis from 2021 to 2023. He previously served as Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Networks in the Cabinet of Lucas Papademos (2011–2012), Minister for Health in the Cabinet of Antonis Samaras (2014–2015), and Minister for Rural Development and Food in the original Mitsotakis cabinet (2019–2021).

Early life and education

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Voridis graduated from Athens College and acquired his degree from the Law School of the University of Athens. He also acquired a Master of Laws with merit from University College London. Voridis specialized in international commercial law, criminal law, and the philosophy of law. During his time there, he was the leader of the fascist student group "Student Alternative".[5] Voridis himself has denied any connection with far-right politics, instead describing himself as a national liberal.[6]

Political career

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After graduating from Athens College, he was appointed secretary general of the young wing of the National Political Union (EPEN),[7] a far-right political party founded by a year earlier by the jailed leader of the 1967 military coup and junta leader Georgios Papadopoulos. Voridis, who replaced Nikolaos Michaloliakos (who went on to lead Golden Dawn) as EPEN's youth leader, remained in this position until 1990.

During his compulsory military service from 1992 to 1993, Voridis graduated class leader (92 A' ESSO) in Armour School and he served as an Armour Cadet Reserve Officer, gaining the rank of second lieutenant.

In 1994, he founded the far-right Hellenic Front party and became its first president. He unsuccessfully ran for the position of Athens mayor in 1998 and 2002. The Front's motto was "Red Card to the Illegal Immigrants", and he ran together with Konstantinos Plevris in the national elections of 2000.[8] The Hellenic Front under the chairmanship of Voridis performed lamentably in the 2004 general election and managed to gather only 7000 (0.1%) votes. As a result of this, the Hellenic Front ceased its political activity in 2005 and was subsequently merged with the more successful Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS) party. Voridis became a member of the political council of LAOS. Voridis later competed for a council seat in the 2006 local elections on the LAOS ticket in East Attica. He eventually secured 5% of the vote and was elected prefectural councillor.

Parliamentary career

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On 16 September 2007, Makis Voridis was elected Member of the Greek Parliament with LAOS, calling up 8,663 votes in the Attica district, with a potential difference of 5174 votes from the second candidate, Tania Iakovidou, a TV journalist. [citation needed]

In November 2011, Voridis was appointed Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Networks in the coalition government headed by Lucas Papademos. In February 2012, he was expelled from LAOS for supporting the second bailout package but retained his portfolio after consultations with the prime minister.[9][10] A few days later, he joined New Democracy and surrendered his parliamentary seat to LAOS.[11][12] As Minister, Voridis was supposed to open up professions like taxi drivers, a measure he has previously opposed on multiple occasions.[13]

On 10 June 2014, Voridis was appointed Minister for Health,[14] despite significant concern from Jewish and other groups.[15]

On 9 July 2019, he was appointed Minister for Rural Development and Food in the cabinet of New Democracy leader and prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. On 5 January 2021, he was appointed Minister for the Interior.

Controversy

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According to a former fellow student at Athens College, writing in Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Voridis formed the fascist student group "Free Pupils" that painted the walls with swastikas and saluted each other using the Nazi-era greeting "Heil Hitler." It was further alleged that during school elections, Voridis would violently threaten the Jewish students who opposed his fascist group, as well as their families.[16]

In an interview with The Guardian, Voridis denied allegations of crypto-fascism, antisemitism and homophobia, describing himself as a national liberal with a rightwing student activist background.[7] Voridis has also expressed views against illegal immigration.[17][18] The article's author describes him as a former "axe-wielding fascist" who "does not deny he is a reconstructed fascist". His presence in government has been met with alarm by Jewish and leftist groups.[16][7]

After the 2019 elections he was appointed Minister of Rural Development and Food.[19] Diplomatic sources from Israel said they would not cooperate with the new minister because of his anti-Semitic past.[20] Voridis admitted his many years of coexistence with anti-Semites, but declared that he is pro-Israel and that he has never been an anti-Semite. In 2019, he visited the Jewish Museum of Greece, where he spoke about the history of "Greek Jews and their constant presence in Greece since ancient times". On the part of the museum, the general secretary of KISE, Victor Eliezer welcomed him "as a friend of the Jewish people and the Israeli community in Greece".[21]

References

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  1. ^ "Rise of the Greek far right raises fears of further turmoil". The Guardian. 16 December 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  2. ^ Aslanidis, Paris (May 2022). "Η Άκρα Δεξιά στην Ελλάδα, 1965–2018 [The Far Right in Greece, 1965–2018]. by Vassiliki Georgiadou". Journal of Modern Greek Studies. 40 (1): 223–227. doi:10.1353/mgs.2022.0018. ISSN 1086-3265. S2CID 248500002.
  3. ^ Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Golden Dawn is down, but far right rises again in Greece | DW | 17.10.2021". DW.COM. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  4. ^ Baboulias, Yiannis (15 February 2018). "The Far Right Is a Growing Threat in Greece". ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  5. ^ "Όταν ο Κατρούγκαλος διέγραφε τον Βορίδη από τον Σύλλογο Φοιτητών της Νομικής". 27 January 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  6. ^ "Μάκης Βορίδης, Ακροδεξιός εγώ; Απλώς εθνικοφιλελεύθερος". To Vima. 12 September 2010. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  7. ^ a b c Helena Smith (16 December 2011). "Rise of the Greek far right raises fears of further turmoil". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  8. ^ "Greece's Jewish voters are faced with an impossible choice". Haaretz. 10 June 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  9. ^ "Ναι" στο Μνημόνιο από 199 βουλευτές και "όχι" από 74. To Vima (in Greek). Athens. 13 February 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  10. ^ Χωρίς ανασχηματισμό η κυβέρνηση – Παραμένει ο Βορίδης. To Vima (in Greek). Athens. 14 February 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  11. ^ Προσχώρησαν στη Ν.Δ. οι Μ. Βορίδης και Αδ. Γεωργιάδης. To Vima (in Greek). Athens. 17 February 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  12. ^ Παρέδωσαν τις έδρες τους στο ΛΑΟΣ Μ. Βορίδης και Αδ. Γεωργιάδης. To Vima (in Greek). Athens. 17 February 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
  13. ^ "Greece's government: Divided they stand". The Economist. 16 November 2011. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
  14. ^ "Υπουργός Υγείας". Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  15. ^ "Greek Jews rap appointment of rightist Makis Voridis as health minister". 9 June 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  16. ^ a b Sabby Mionis (6 March 2012). "Israel must fight to keep neo-Nazis out of Greece's government". Haaretz. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
  17. ^ "Greek elections focus on immigration". 6 April 2000. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
  18. ^ "The struggle for containers fuels the controversy between the green and the blue". 25 April 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
  19. ^ Καλλιαντζή, Κωνσταντίνα (9 July 2019). "Νέος υπουργός Αγροτικής Ανάπτυξης και Τροφίμων ο Μάκης Βορίδης". Αθήνα 9,84 (in Greek). Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  20. ^ "Israel will shun new Greek minister with antisemitic past". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 11 July 2019. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  21. ^ Newsroom (22 July 2019). "Eπίσκεψη Μάκη Βορίδη στο Εβραϊκό Μουσείο Ελλάδος". Ελεύθερος Τύπος (in Greek). Retrieved 22 August 2024. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
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Political offices
Preceded by Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Networks
2011–2012 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister for Health
2014–2015 		Succeeded byas Minister for Health and Social Security
Preceded by Minister for Rural Development and Food
2019–2021 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister for the Interior
2021–2023 		Succeeded by
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