Former PASOK executive Pavlos Athanasopoulos passed away

The lawyer and former executive of PASOK Pavlos Athanasopoulos has died.

Uncompromising and militant, Athanasopoulos had taken part in the anti-dictatorship student movement and was involved in the infamous occupation of the Athens Law School.

Born in Pyrgos Ilias, he took part in the anti-dictatorship student movement and was politically active on the left. Later he became a member of PASOK.

Athanasopoulos was a lawyer in Athens, he was deputy head of the human rights committee while he was a member of the secretariat of the rights, social integration, immigration and asylum sector.

He was involved both as a lawyer and as a member of a human rights NGO. Candidate Member of Parliament for Athens (in 1993 with SYN and in 2004 with PASOK) and Ilia (in 1996 and 2000 with SYN).

"Competitive, loyal to his ideas"

Evangelos Venizelos spoke of the late former PASOK executive as someone who was "discreet and noble, but always competitive and loyal to his ideas."

"Our beloved Pavlos Athanasopoulos left within a few hours, as if he didn't want to tire his own people. Discreet and noble but always competitive, loyal to his ideas.

"A champion of democracy, the rule of law and human rights, political and social liberalism, tolerance, pluralism. A persistent, progressive, active citizen, with a high sense of the national interest, present in all difficult and "unpopular" moments.

"Fortunately he had time before his sudden departure to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Nomiki uprising in February 1973 and to speak about it with his characteristic modesty and reflectiveness.

"He honoured us with his friendship and companionship during the difficult years of the crisis and was always a person of reference with his maturity and integrity.

"We will always remember him fondly."

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