Thirty years ago today, on June 23, 1996, Andreas Papandreou died at the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center in Athens after ...

Thirty years ago today, on June 23, 1996, Andreas Papandreou died at the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center in Athens after roughly four months of hospitalization. He was the founder of PASOK, a three-term prime minister, and one of the most consequential political figures in modern Greek history. His death came in the early hours of the morning. According to contemporary reporting by Ta Nea, the news reached Prime Minister Kostas Simitis at 2:30 a.m. while he was at a summit in Florence, Italy. A phone call from the Secretary of the Council of Ministers, Tasos Mantelis, delivered the news. Simitis did not leave his hotel room and stayed only with his wife Daphne for the rest of the night. Papandreou had already stepped down as prime minister in January 1996 due to his deteriorating health. The PASOK parliamentary group voted to replace him with Simitis, meaning Papandreou spent his final months outside the office he had held for so long. His funeral was held with full state honors, a distinction that had not been granted since 1963. President of the Republic declared four days of national mourning, with Wednesday declared a public holiday across the entire state sector. Two formations of warplanes accompanied the funeral procession, and 21 cannon salutes were fired as his coffin passed in front of the Greek Parliament. The scenes at the Athens Cathedral were striking. His current wife Dimitra Liani and his former wife Margarita Papandreou were both present, separated at the pews by his son George Papandreou and later by his other son Nikos. Actress Zoe Laskari and a group of Filipino domestic workers living in Greece were among those who came to pay their respects. His son Nikos, speaking from Mytilene, said his father left "fighting, as he always fought, and he never would have abandoned politics." For 80 consecutive hours before burial, crowds passed by his coffin in what observers described as something beyond an ordinary public tribute. #Greece #PASOK #GreekHistory