Spyros Halvatzis, a member of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), has passed away at the age of 79.
He was born in 1947 in Kozani. From a young age, he was deeply involved in politics, and during the dictatorship he was exiled to Gyaros, Leros, and Oropos.
He served as secretary of the Central Council of the KNE and was a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the KKE.
From 1994 to 2002, he served as a prefectural councilor for Athens; from 2002 to 2007, he was a city councilor for the City of Athens, and he served as a member of the Greek Parliament for the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) from 2007 to 2014.
He was married and had two children.
KKE: Spyros Chalvatzis devoted all his energy to the cause of the KKE and the working class
«The Central Committee of the KKE, with deep sorrow, bids farewell to Comrade Spyros Halvatzis, a communist who, for more than six decades, devoted all his energy to the cause of the KKE, the working class, and the struggle for socialism and communism,» states a press release from the party’s Central Committee.
«Comrade Spyros Halvatzis belonged to that generation of communists whose lives are inseparable from the history of the KKE and the workers» and popular movement. A life intertwined with the KKE and the KNE, with the struggles of the people and the youth, and with the difficult and beautiful moments of the class struggle,” the statement emphasizes, and goes on to say:
«He was born in 1947 in Kozani. He grew up in a family of revolutionaries. His father, a shoemaker, was a fighter in the ELAS; he was imprisoned on Makronissos and exiled. His mother was also a fighter in the ELAS and a member of the KKE. Thus, from his childhood onward, he experienced not only the hardships and difficulties of a working-class family—since he began working as a furrier at age 11—but also something much greater: what it means to fight for a world without the exploitation of one person by another, even when that requires great sacrifices. He, too, followed this path.
In 1962, he came into contact with EDA leaders in Kastoria and, together with other young people, formed the first EDA youth group in the region, where he later became secretary. Until April 21, 1967, he served as secretary of the Lambrakis Youth Organization in Kastoria, where he was first arrested and initially exiled to Gyaro, Lakki on Leros, and Oropos, before returning to Gyaros and being released in October 1970.
In February 1968, Comrade Spyros supported the Resolutions of the 12th Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and fought to defend the Party alongside many other comrades, while in exile in Lakkí, Leros.
Upon completing his military service in early 1973, he joined the Athens chapter of the KNE, working at its City Office, and in the summer of that same year he was elected to the Central Council (CC) of the KNE. In November 1973, one week after the Polytechnic uprising, he was arrested again and exiled to Gyaros. After being laid off, he worked as a laborer in Aspropyrgos. He participated in the First Conference of the KOA and was elected a member of the KOA City Committee in June 1975, serving until 1977. In February 1975, he was elected to the Executive Bureau of the Central Committee of the KNE. At the 10th Congress of the KKE, he was elected a full member of the Central Committee, and at the 2nd Congress of the KNE, he was elected Secretary of the Central Committee and remained in that position until 1986. Shortly after the 11th Congress of the KKE, he was elected a member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee. In 1986, at the 12th Congress of the KKE, he was elected as an alternate member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee.
The critical struggle of 1989–1991 held a special place in his journey. Comrade Spyros was on the front lines of the struggle to defend the Party’s independent existence and revolutionary character against the opportunists’ attempt to dismantle the KKE. At the Party’s 13th Congress, where he was elected a member of the Central Committee and the Political Bureau, he fought to defend and preserve the revolutionary character of the KKE. At the 14th Congress, he was re-elected as a member of the Central Committee and the Political Bureau, as he was at the 15th, 16th, and 17th Congresses. At the 18th Congress, he was elected a member of the Central Committee. Subsequently, he was entrusted with various duties, which he carried out consistently; He served as president of the Association of Imprisoned and Exiled Resistance Fighters (SFEA) and has been a member of its executive board to this day.
He served repeatedly as a member of Parliament for the Party from 2007 to 2014, was elected as a prefectural councilor and a municipal councilor in Athens, leading the electoral lists supported by the KKE. Comrade Spyros has also written two books, *The Path of Youth* and *The Rebels: A Life Devoted to the Struggle*, published by Synchroni Epohi.
For Comrade Spyros, being a communist was not limited to organized action, Party responsibilities, and struggles. It was a way of life. As he himself wrote, “the communist’s way of life is a constant element in the Party’s high-quality work,” which means “trust in the working class and its historic mission,” trust in the labor movement, respect for workers, and, at the same time, constant ideological, political, and organizational vigilance, without complacency or self-satisfaction.
Mr. Spyros experienced persecution and lawlessness, imprisonment and exile. He experienced great hopes, but also great upheavals, difficult turning points, and trials. He saw the certainties of an era crumble. Yet he never abandoned the great certainty of his life: that this world of exploitation is not eternal. He leaves this conviction as a legacy to his comrades and especially to the younger generations of communists.
Today we bid farewell to our comrade with deep sorrow, but also with pride in his life and his journey. We will miss his presence, his experience, and his comradely concern. But what remains with us is the most important thing a communist can leave behind: the example of a life devoted to the very end to the cause for which he fought.
We will carry on, knowing that nothing that previous generations of communists gave was lost. That every prison, every exile, every difficult struggle, every small and large act of resistance became a link in a chain that extends to the present day and moves forward. Because this is the strength of the KKE. The strength of a great collective cause that is passed down from generation to generation, that became a life’s purpose for thousands of people, that endured because, in the most difficult moments, there were communists who did not back down. One of them was Comrade Spyros, and that is why his life will remain inextricably linked to the history of the Party he served, to the struggles he waged, and to the generations of communists who carry on and will continue to do so.
The Central Committee of the KKE extends its heartfelt condolences to his family, to our comrade and his partner in life and in the struggle, Marianthi, to his two children, Alekos and Panos, to his grandchildren, and to all his loved ones.».
