Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos

Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos (Greek: Νικόλαος Παναγιωτόπουλος; born 18 August 1965 in Kavala)[1][2] is a Greek politician of the New Democracy party who served as Minister for National Defence in the cabinet of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis from 2019 to 2023.[3][4]

Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos
Νικόλαος Παναγιωτόπουλος
56-year-old man standing at bust length with dark jacket and tie, light blue shirt and electric blue badge holder lanyard
Panagiotopoulos in 2022
Minister for Migration and Asylum
Assumed office
14 June 2024
Prime MinisterKyriakos Mitsotakis
Preceded byDimitris Kairidis
Minister for National Defence
In office
9 July 2019 – 26 May 2023
Prime MinisterKyriakos Mitsotakis
Preceded byEvangelos Apostolakis
Succeeded byAlkiviadis Stefanis
Personal details
Born (1965-08-18) 18 August 1965 (age 59)
Political partyNew Democracy

Political career

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During Panagiotopoulos' time in office, the Greek parliament approved the purchase of six new and 12 used Dassault Rafale fighter aircraft from France for 2.5 billion euros ($3.04 billion) in January 2021.[5] Later that year, he led efforts on a defence pact between Greece and France, a NATO ally, whereby they would come to each other's aid in the event of an external threat. The pact included an order for three French frigates worth 3 billion euros.[6]

In the June 2023 Greek legislative election, he was elected to the Hellenic Parliament from Kavala.

References

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  1. ^ "CV". Hellenic Parliament. Archived from the original on 9 July 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  2. ^ "Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos". Ministry of National Defence. Archived from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  3. ^ "New Greek PM sworn in and a new Cabinet is announced". Neos Kosmos. 9 July 2019. Archived from the original on 22 August 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  4. ^ "The Composition of the New Greek Government". The National Herald. 9 July 2019. Archived from the original on 22 August 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  5. ^ Greek parliament approves purchase of Rafale fighters from France Reuters, January 14, 2021.
  6. ^ John Irish (28 September 2021), Macron tells Europe to 'stop being naive' after France signs defence deal with Greece Reuters.