The politician Vassilis Leventis He passed away today, Tuesday (July 1).
The death of his father and the president of the Centrist Union, Vasilis Leventis, his son, Marios Georgiadis, announced in a Facebook post.
Specifically, his son writes in his post: «I never expected this moment to come so soon. At just 75 years old.
It is with great sorrow that I say goodbye to my father today. Tthe man who raised me, supported me at every step of my life, and taught me, by his example, what dignity, perseverance, patience, consistency, and courage mean.
To many, you were the President. To me, you were just my father. I wasn't your biological child. But you never made me feel like I was anything less than your son.
And today, looking back on my entire life, I realize that blood can create a bond.
But it is love, care, and presence that make a father. And you were my father, too.
Thank you for raising me as if I were your own child. Thank you for everything you taught me—not only through your words, but through the way you lived your life.
Your greatest legacy isn't what you've accomplished. It's the way you lived.
The way you fought. The way you stayed true to your principles.
Have a safe trip, Dad. »I'll never forget you.".
Who was Vasilis Leventis?
Vasilis Leventis was born in 1951 in Messini, Messinia, the fourth child of Apostolos and Gregoria Leventis.
The Leventis family moved to Piraeus, where Vasilis Leventis completed elementary and middle school. In 1969, Vasilis Leventis was admitted to the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), School of Civil Engineering, ranking fourth in his class, and went on to pursue his graduate studies in Germany.
During the struggle against the dictatorship (1970–74), Vasilis Leventis, a student at the Polytechnic, operated a mimeograph machine and, together with a group of fellow students, distributed leaflets calling on the people of Athens to rise up against the dictatorial regime. The mimeograph machine caused the junta great trouble and kept the spirits of the Athenians high during a difficult period for the country.
He first became involved in politics in 1982, when he ran for mayor of Piraeus. In 1984, he founded Greece’s first Green Party. In 1990, Vasilis Leventis launched the television station Channel 40, which recently became Extra Channel. There, he developed a strong television presence through political commentary programs, which brought him wider recognition among the public.
It is worth noting that Vasilis Leventis’s first involvement in politics came when, at the age of 23, he helped draft Articles 21 and 24 of the 1975 Constitution, as a key collaborator of Kyprianos Biris, the rector of the National Technical University of Athens.
The In 1984, he founded the Union of Centrists, a party through which he remained active in Greek political life for decades, advocating for institutional reform, transparency, and the strengthening of parliamentary democracy.
The In 2015, he was elected for the first time as a member of the Greek Parliament, serving as leader of the Union of Centrists.
During his term in Parliament, he participated in debates and made statements primarily on issues related to institutions, the economy, and public administration.
