Former Greek prime minister Konstantinos Simitis, who has been credited with paving the way for the south-eastern European country to join the eurozone, has died, Greek Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis posted on the social media platform X on Sunday morning.
Simitis, a Social Democrat, was 88.
Numerous Greek politicians and former colleagues, as well as political opponents, praised Simitis as the "architect of Greece's accession to the eurozone" in 2001.
Simitis served as Greek prime minister between 1996 and 2004. During his time in office, he tried to modernize his country and reduce red tape according to his motto, "Modernization has no expiry date," it says on his website.
Born June 23, 1936, in the port city of Piraeus, Simitis went abroad to study law in Germany and economic science in Britain.
He went on to work as a law professor at several German universities.
During the Greek dictatorship between 1967 to 1974, which saw the country ruled by a right-wing military junta, Simitis was active in the resistance movement.
He managed to evade arrest by fleeing into exile in Germany using a forged passport.
