Christos Spirtzis
{{Short description|Greek engineer and politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Christos Spirtzis
|native_name = Χρήστος Σπίρτζης
|image = Christos Spirtzis 2013 cropped.jpg
|office = Minister of Infrastructure, Transport and Networks
|primeminister = Alexis Tsipras
|term_start = 5 November 2016
|term_end = 9 July 2019
|successor = Kostas Karamanlis
|office1 = Alternate Minister of Infrastructure, Transport and Networks
|primeminister1 = Alexis Tsipras
|term_start1 = 28 January 2015
|term_end1 = 28 August 2015
|successor1 = Christos Zois
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|1969|3|7|df=yes}}
|death_date =
|death_place =
|spouse = Dimitra Foufri
|children = 2 (Panagiotis, Kallia)
|party = Independent
|profession = Electrical engineer
|alma_mater = Democritus University of Thrace
}}
Christos Spirtzis ({{langx|el|Χρήστος Σπίρτζης}}; born 1969) is a Greek engineer and centre-left{{cite web|first=Manina|last=Nikolopoulou|script-title=el:Χρήστος Σπίρτζης Φύτεψε... «Ελιά»|work=Ethnos|url=http://www.ethnos.gr/article.asp?pubid=63925080|date=27 November 2013|accessdate=3 February 2015}} independent politician. From 2015 to 2019, he served as the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport in the government of Alexis Tsipras.{{cite web|title=The Who's Who of the new Greek Gov't|work=Proto Thema|url=http://en.protothema.gr/the-who-is-who-of-the-greek-govt|date=29 January 2015|accessdate=3 February 2015}}
Biography
=Early life and education=
Born 1969 in Athens and raised in the nearby Ampelokipoi, Spirtzis studied Electrical engineering at the Democritus University of Thrace.{{cite web|first=Christos|last=Spritzis|script-title=el:Βιογραφικό|trans-title=Biography|url=http://christosspirtzis.blogspot.de/p/ksfgjsfogksfpg.html|accessdate=3 February 2015}}
=Professional career=
In 1999 he was appointed a member of the Economic and Social Committee of Greece, a post he would hold until 2008. One year later, in 2000, Spirtzis was elected to the executive committee of the Technical Chamber of Greece (TEE). In 2007, he became vice president responsible for energy, development, employment, insurance, licensing, publications, ethics in representation, and the databank.{{cite web|title=Hellenic National Committee of WEC|url=http://www.worldenergy.org/wec-network/member-committees/greece/|publisher=World Energy Council|accessdate=3 February 2015}} In September 2010, he was promoted to the post of the president of the chamber.{{cite web|first=Ioanna|last=Zikakou|title=Who Is Who in the New Greek Government|work=Greek Reporter|url=http://greece.greekreporter.com/2015/02/01/who-is-who-in-the-new-greek-government/|date=1 February 2015|accessdate=3 February 2015}} Presiding over the Democratic Coalition of Technicians ({{lang|el|Δημοκρατικής Συμπαράταξης Μηχανικών}}), he was re-elected as president of TEE in 2013. He also chairs the Hellenic National Committee at the World Energy Council.
=Political career=
Spirtzis, who has been described as a "child" of social-democratic PASOK, however wasn't hesitant to clash with his party, especially in strongly opposing the Memorandum. After the January 2015 legislative election, Spirtzis was appointed Alternate Minister of Infrastructure, Transport and Networks by the Syriza-led government of Alexis Tsipras. He was sworn in on 28 January 2015, one day later than most ministers, as the Council of State had to approve the merging of ministries first.{{cite web|title=New SYRIZA cabinet sworn in at the presidential mansion|work=Capital.gr|url=http://english.capital.gr/News.asp?id=2213361|date=28 January 2015|accessdate=3 February 2015}} Announcing that the government would stop the privatization of fourteen regional airports, he said: "The central position of the government is to stop the privatizations of infrastructure which serve and can help the development of the country."{{cite web|first=Pavlos|last=Zafiropoulos|title=The opening moves of the SYRIZA government|work=The Times of Change|url=http://www.thetoc.gr/eng/politics/article/the-opening-moves-of-the-syriza-government|date=28 January 2015|accessdate=3 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150203052951/http://www.thetoc.gr/eng/politics/article/the-opening-moves-of-the-syriza-government|archive-date=3 February 2015|url-status=dead}} In an article published by Politico,{{Cite web |date=2024-01-26 |title=Greece rejected EU prosecutor's call for action against 2 ex-ministers after rail crash |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/greece-european-public-prosecutors-office-eppo-ministers-christos-spirtzis-konstantinos-karamanlis-rail-crash/ |access-date=2024-01-26 |website=POLITICO |language=en}} Spirtzis was mentioned as one of the two former ministers suspected by EPPO prosecutors for breach of duty in connection with the Tempi train crash in Feb 28 2023 where 57 people were killed.
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{official website}} {{in lang|el}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spirtzis, Christos}}
Category:Engineers from Athens
Category:Democritus University of Thrace alumni
Category:Greek electrical engineers
Category:Government ministers of Greece