Petros Molyviatis, a distinguished Greek diplomat, foreign minister, and longtime close associate of former prime minister and president Konstantinos Karamanlis, passed away on Sunday at the age of 97.
He died at Evangelismos Hospital in Athens, where he was hospitalized a day earlier.
Born on the island of Chios in 1928, Molyviatis, a nephew of the writer Ilias Venezis, had a storied career in Greek foreign policy, serving three terms as minister of Foreign Affairs – in 2004–2006, in 2012, and again in 2015 during a caretaker government.
His role in Greek-Turkish relations – and particularly during the critical period surrounding the Cyprus referendums in April 2004 – was pivotal. Unlike his predecessor, George Papandreou, he took a firm stance on the Annan Plan, aligning with the position of then-Cypriot president Tassos Papadopoulos and, with the agreement of prime minister Kostas Karamanlis, a nephew of the elder synonymous statesman, supported the Greek Cypriots’ eventual rejection of the plan.
A graduate of the University of Athens Law School, Molyviatis joined the diplomatic service early in his career, representing Greece at the United Nations in New York, NATO in Brussels, and in key postings in Moscow and Ankara.
He was a trusted aide to Konstantinos Karamanlis – founder of the conservative New Democracy party and the politician who led Greece into the EU, then EEC, in 1979 – serving as Director of the Prime Minister’s Political Office (1974–1980), and twice as Secretary General of the Presidency during Karamanlis’ terms as President of the Republic (1980–1985 and 1990–1995).
Molyviatis was elected and served as a member of state for New Democracy from 1996 to 2004.
In 2003, he became coordinator for the party’s National Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee, succeeding Dora Bakoyannis, who took on duties as Athens mayor.
The following year, Molyviatis was appointed foreign minister in the cabinet of prime minister Kostas Karamanlis, the nephew of the synonymous elder statesman.
Beyond government posts, Molyviatis chaired the Special Emergency Response Fund following the devastating wildfires of 2007 in the Peloponnese and Evia and was honored with the Pushkin Medal by the Russian Federation in 2008.
He was married to Niovi Christaki and was the father of a son and a daughter.
[Kathimerini, AMNA]