Dora Bakoyannis

Dora Bakoyanni
Ντόρα Μπακογιάννη
Bakoyanni in 2011
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
15 February 2006 – 6 October 2009
Prime MinisterKostas Karamanlis
Preceded byPetros Molyviatis
Succeeded byGeorge Papandreou
Mayor of Athens
In office
1 January 2003 – 14 February 2006
Preceded byDimitris Avramopoulos
Succeeded byNikitas Kaklamanis
Minister for Culture
In office
3 December 1992 – 13 October 1993
Prime MinisterKonstantinos Mitsotakis
Preceded byAnna Benaki-Psarouda
Succeeded byMelina Mercouri
Personal details
Born
Theodora Mitsotaki

(1954-05-06) May 6, 1954 (age 72)
Athens, Greece
Political partyNew Democracy (Before 2010; 2012–present)
Democratic Alliance (2010–2012)
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1974; died 1989)​
Isidoros Kouvelos
​
(m. 1998)​
ChildrenAlexia
Kostas
Alma materUniversity of Munich
University of Athens
WebsiteOfficial website

Theodora "Dora" Bakoyanni (el; née Mitsotaki, born May 6, 1954) is a Greek politician. From 2006 to 2009 she was Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece. She was also the Mayor of Athens from 2003 to 2006, becoming the city's first female mayor. She was also the Minister for Culture of Greece from 1992 to 1993.

Early life

Bakoyannis was born in Athens in 1954. She is the oldest of four children of the veteran Greek politician Konstantinos Mitsotakis, former Prime Minister of Greece. Her younger brother Kyriakos, is the current Prime Minister of Greece.

Political career

Mayoralty of Athens

On December 13, 2002, while serving as mayor-elect of Athens, an assassination attempt was made on her. She took office in January 2003, becoming the city's first female mayor.

During her time as mayor, the city hosted the Olympic Games, making her the first woman to serve as mayor of a city hosting the Olympics. In 2005 she was awarded the World Mayor Prize.

Parliamentary career

Bakoyannis was an independent member of the Hellenic Parliament representing unofficially Democratic Alliance, the political party she founded in 2010. She was expelled from the opposition New Democracy party because she voted against the party. Bakoyannis rejoined New Democracy on 21 May 2012.

Personal life

In December 1974, she married journalist Pavlos Bakoyannis and later gave birth to their two children, Alexia and Kostas. On 26 September 1989, her husband, who had been elected a member of the Hellenic Parliament, was assassinated by members of the terrorist group Revolutionary Organization 17 November. She later married businessman Isidoros Kouvelos in 1998.

In October 2021, Bakoyannis revealed that she had been diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

References

  1. ↑ "Armed attack against Dora Bakoyannis". in.gr. 2002-12-13. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  2. ↑ "Murderous attack against Dora Bakoyannis". www.hri.org. Athens News Agency. 2002-12-13. Retrieved 2021-03-30.[permanent dead link]
  3. ↑ "#66 Dora Bakoyannis". Forbes. 2006-08-31. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
  4. 1 2 "Dora Bakoyannis". OSCE.org. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  5. ↑ "World Mayor: The results for World Mayor 2005".
  6. ↑ "Article". 8 December 2006.
  7. ↑ Marlise Simons (27 September 1989). "Greek lawmaker is slain in Athens". The New York Times.
  8. ↑ "Papandreou Trial a Modern Drama". Chicago Tribune. 5 October 1989.
  9. ↑ "Dora Bakoyannis reveals cancer diagnosis". Kathimerini. Retrieved 2021-10-19.

Other websites

Media related to Dora Bakoyannis at Wikimedia Commons