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''For George Papandreou's grandfather, also called '''George Papandreou''', see [[George Papandreou, senior]].''
'''Giorgos''' (or '''George''') '''Andreas Andrea Papandreou''' ([[Greek language|Greek]]: Γιώργος Α. Παπανδρέου) (born [[June 16]], [[1952]] in St. Paul, Minnesota), is a Greek politician and was Foreign Minister of Greece from [[1999]] to [[2004]]. The son and grandson of Greek prime ministers, Papandreou became the leader of the [[PASOK|Panhellenic Socialist Movement]] (PASOK) party in February [[2004]]. On [[7 March]] Papandreou led PASOK to defeat in the Greek national elections.
[[Image:Simitis-papandreou-5.jpg|thumb|300px|left|[[Costas Simitis]] and [[Giorgos Papandreou]] at [[PASOK]]'s 7th Convention that took place from 6 to 8 February, [[2004]]. The proceedings commenced with the unanimous approval of George Papandreou's candidacy for the Presidency of the party and Kostas Simitis' farewell speech.]]
==Background==
Papandreou was elected to the Greek Parliament in [[1981]], the year his father became Prime Minister. He became Under Secretary for Cultural Affairs in [[1985]], Minister of Education and Religious Affairs in [[1988]], Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in [[1993]], Minister of Education and Religious Affairs again in [[1994]], Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs again in [[1996]] and Minister of Foreign Affairs in February [[1999]]. He was also Minister Responsible for Government Coordinator for the Bid for [[2004 Summer Olympics|2004 Olympic Games]] in [[1997]].
In the last years of his father's life, Papandreou's loyalty was severely strained when his father divorced his mother to marry [[Dimitra Liani]], an [[Olympic Airways]] hostess. Papandreou was estranged from his father, but their political relationship did not seem to suffer. When Andreas Papandreou died in [[1996]], George delivered a generous tribute at his funeral, but ensured that Margaret, not Dimitra, was treated as Andreas's widow.
Papandreou received numerous awards and honorary degrees in recognition of his work for human rights. As Foreign Minister he abandoned the sometimes inflammatory nationalist rhetoric of his father and fostered closer relations with Turkey, Albania and Bulgaria, all countries with which Greece has traditionally had hostile relations. He worked without success to solve the dispute over [[Cyprus]], being unwilling to make concessions on Greece's fundamental position that Cyprus must be reunited. He also worked to repair the damage of the [[Macedonia]] crisis of the early 1990s.
