1996

Events

January

• January 9: The Greek Foreign Ministry refute the Turkish Foreign Ministry's claim that the Imia islands are Turkish.
• January 15: PSAT awards for Best Athletes of 1995, for the first time in the presence of Kostis Stefanopoulos, president of the Hellenic republic. Pyrros Dimas becomes the first athlete after Nikos Galis to be elected three times Athlete of The Year
• January 16: Andreas Papandreou resigns as Prime Minister of Greece.
• January 22: Costas Simitis becomes Prime Minister after Andreas Papandreou's resignation due to ill health.
• January 23: Greece submits her candidacy as host country of the 2004 Olympics.
• January 26: The Mayor of Kalymnos, Dimitris Diakomichalis, raises the Greek flag over the Imia islands in response to Turkey's claim that they are Turkish.
• January 27: Two Turkish newsmen from Hurriyet land by helicopter on the Imia islands and raise the Turkish flag in place of the Greek one.
• January 28: Sailors from the Hellenic Navy patrol boat "Antoniou" land on the Imia islands, lower the Turkish flag and raise the Greek flag. Greek frogmen take up positions on the islands.
• January 31: Greece and Turkey nearly go to war over the uninhabited Imia islands. The crisis is eventually averted but not before a Greek helicopter crashes. Its three-man crew is lost.

February

• February 15: The Revolutionary Organisation 17 November launch a mortar attack on the US Embassy in Athens.

March

• March 1: The Greek Supreme Court "Areios Pagos" declares unconstitutional the confiscation of the Royal property in Greece.
• March 10: Olympiakos win the European Cupwinners' Cup in volleyball, defeating Bayer Wuppertal 3-2 at the Peace and Friendship Stadium.
• March 13: Constantine Mitsotakis asks Parliament to free the Junta members that are still imprisoned.
• March 16: Theodoros Angelopoulos receives an award as the best European screen director.
• March 29: The Cyprus Stock Exchange commences operations.

April

• April 11: Panathinaikos defeat Barcelona 67-66 and win the European Euroleague.
• April 13: Long distance runner, Yiannis Kouros runs 293.7 km in 24 hours.
• April 18: Fanatic Islamists murder 18 Greek tourists in Cairo, Egypt.

May

• May 19: Olympiakos humble Panathinaikos 73-38 and are crowned basketball champions of Greece. The point differential was the largest recorded in Greek basketball playoff history.
• May 30: Former AEK midfielder Vasilis Tsartas signs with Sevilla.

June

• June 4: Dusan Bajevic leaves AEK to coach Olympiakos.
• June 5: Giorgos Donis becomes the most expensive Greek football player after signing with Blackburn for 1.1 billion drachmas. He also becomes the first Greek to play in the Premiership
• June 5: EPAE and PSAP agree on applying the new regulation concerning free trading of players from the European Union
• June 8: Radio station Sport FM begins broadcasting.
• June 8: Niki Xanthou breaks the Greek women's record in the long jump with 7.01m.
• June 10: Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I is named an honourary member of the Athens Academy.
• June 16: The Greek Athletics Championships celebrated 100 years at OAKA Stadium. Five new records were set: Niki Bakogianni (1.97m in the high jump), Olga Vasdeki (14.48m in the triple jump), Alexandros Papadimitriou (77.84m in hammer), Stelios Bisbas (13.61 in the 110m hurdles) and Katerina Koffa (22.66 in the 200m)
• June 26: Thousands attend the funeral of former PM Andreas Papandreou in Athens.

July

• July 8: Cypriot parties, on both sides of the divide, condemn the assassination of Turkish-Cypriot reporter Kutlu Adali.
• July 26: Weightlifter Pyrros Dimas wins gold in the Atlanta Olympic Games.
• July 27: Leonidas Kokkas wins silver in weightlifting in the Atlanta Olympic Games.
• July 28: Greek gymnast Yiannis Melissanidis wins gold in the floor exercises at the Atlanta Olympic Games.
• July 28: Greek weightlifter Kakhi Kakhiasvili wins gold in the Atlanta Olympic Games.
• July 30: Nikos Kaklamanakis wins the olympic gold in Mistral class at the Atlanta Olympics.

August

• August 3: Greece beats Brazil 91-72 during the Atlanta Olympic Games Basketball Tournament. Panagiotis Yiannakis, who participates for the last time with the national basketball team, scores 3 points and reaches 5291 in 351 games, being first in front of Panagiotis Fassoulas (2384 / 243) and Fanis Christodoulou (2255 / 219) in caps.
• August 3: Niki Bakogianni wins the silver medal in high jump with 2.03m at the Atlanta Olympics. Stefka Konstadinova of Bulgaria takes first place with 2.05m.
• August 11: Tasos Isaak is clubbed to death by Turks in Derynia, Cyprus.
• August 11: Muslim Albanians vandalise the Orthodox church of St Michael, in Moschopolis, southern Albania.
• August 14: Solomos Solomou is shot dead by a Turkish Cypriot politician in Derynia, Cyprus.

September

• September 9: The government of Cyprus publishes evidence that Solomos Solomou was shot dead by Kenan Akin, "minister of agriculture" of the so-called Turkish Republic of N. Cyprus.
• September 13: The first TV debate in Greek political history takes place as Costas Simitis takes on Miltiades Ewert prior to the general elections.
• September 22: Costas Simitis' PASOK wins the Greek general elections.

October

• October 13: Cypriot Petros Kakkoulis is shot dead by Turkish occupation troops as he was gathering snails near Achna.
• October 30: Panagiotis Giannakis debuts on the bench of the National Basketball Team of Greece, in a game against Israel.

November

• November 5: The Greek warship "Kostakos" is hit by another vessel and sinks. Four sailors drown.
• November 24: Miss Hellas, Irene Skliva, is crowned Miss World.

December

• December 28: The SS "Dystos" sinks off the coast of Euboea. Twenty passengers drown.
• December 30: First Eurostars (the European All-Star Basketball Game) is held in Istanbul. Panagiotis Fassoulas, Giorgos Sigalas, David Rivers, Nikos Economou and Yurij Zdovc play for the East (led by Dusan Ivkovic)

Deaths

March

• March 18: Odysseus Elytis, Nobel prize winning poet, born in Heraklion, Crete

April

• April 3: Georgios Charidimos, Shadow theatre (Karagiozis) artist.
• April 16: Stavros Niarchos, shipowner

June

• June 23: Andreas Papandreou, politician
• June 30: Lakis Petropoulos, football player and coach.

July

• July 23: Aliki Vougiouklaki, actress

August

• August 7: Stavros Fryganas, chess champion and official.
• August 8: Nikos Vallianos, footballer.
• August 11: Tasos Isaak, Cypriot patriot.
• August 14: Solomos Solomou, Cypriot patriot.

September

• September 17: Spiro Agnew, Greek-American Vice-President of the United States.

October

• October 21: Georgios Zoitakis, member of the military regime that ruled Greece from 1967-1974