Reflecting on 50 years of the Metapolitefsi
A three-day conference commemorating the 50th anniversary since the restoration of Greek democracy, a period known as the Metapolitefsi, is scheduled to take place from February 29 to March 2 at the National Gallery in Athens.
The conference, titled “50 Years of the Metapolitefsi: The Accomplishments and Shortcomings of the Third Hellenic Republic,” is organized by Kathimerini newspaper, the National Bank Cultural Foundation (MIET), the Delphi Forum, and the Hellenic Observatory at the European Institute of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
Participating in discussions that will take a historical review and reflections on the country’s future will be President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and former premiers. British historian Mark Mazower of Columbia University will deliver the keynote speech, offering insights into how the Metapolitefsi period aligns with the bicentenary of the modern Greek state.
Various politicians and officials who have played pivotal roles in critical areas will be invited to respond to questions from experts and journalists in separate panels. Towards the end of the conference, a debate will address the most important reforms still pending in the country. This discussion will feature Yannis Stournaras, the governor of the Bank of Greece, Stathis Kalyvas, Gladstone Professor of Government at Oxford University, Hugo Dixon, commentator-at-large for Reuters, Kevin Featherstone, LSE Professor and director of the Hellenic Observatory, Elaine Papoulias, executive director of the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies (CES) at Harvard University, and Christina Koulouri, Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences in Athens.
The organizing committee is made up of Mazower, Featherstone, and Papoulias, as well as Kostas Kostis, director of MIET and Professor of Economics & Social History at the University of Athens, Symeon Tsomokos, Founder of the Delphi Economic Forum, and Alexis Papachelas, Executive Director of Kathimerini newspaper.
