Ioannis Varvitsiotis

Ioannis Miltiadou Varvitsiotis is a Greek politician, former Minister for National Defence of the Republic of Greece and currently Member of the European Parliament.

Varvitsiotis was born in Athens on August 2, 1933. He studied Law at the University of Athens with graduate studies in Freiburg, Germany where he specialised in Corporate Law.

He entered politics in 1961, when he was first elected to the Hellenic Parliament, under the banner of the National Radical Union (ERE) of Constantine Karamanlis. He was reelected since, in all the elections that he has participated in, with ERE and - after 1974 - with New Democracy.

Varvitsiotis has served as Deputy Minister of the Interior (1974), Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs (1974-1975), Minister for Trade (1975-1977), Minister for Education and Religion (1977-1980), Minister for Justice (1992) and twice as Minister for National Defence.

Varvitsiotis has authored several book on politics and law. He is married with four children.