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Greece mourns 'noble politician' after former PM's death aged 88
The Guardian
|January 06, 2025
Tributes have been paid to Greece's former socialist prime minister Costas Simitis, who guided Greece into the eurozone and took the steps to ensure it was ready to host the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.
News of Simitis's death at the age of 88 was met yesterday with emotional outpourings from across the political spectrum, with friends and foes voicing admiration for a man credited with overseeing some of the country's most momentous reforms.
"I bid farewell to Costas Simitis with sadness and respect," the centre-right prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said before a four-day period of official mourning was declared.
"A noble and worthy political opponent but also the prime minister who accompanied Greece through some of its great national steps."
The academic turned politician was pronounced dead after being taken to a hospital yesterday in the city of Corinth from his holiday home west of Athens. A state funeral will be held in Athens on Thursday.
This story is from the January 06, 2025 edition of The Guardian.
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