THE 4TH ANNUAL CAPITAL LINK FORUM CONFERENCE
Monday October 30, 2000

"GREECE: YOUR EMU PARTNER IN SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE"

H.E. Mr. Elias Gounaris

Ambassador,

Director General For Political Affairs,

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Mr. Gounaris, the Ambassador of and Director General for Political Affairs in the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has held this post since January 1998.

Prior to his current assignment, Ambassador Gounaris became the Director General for Political Affairs in January 1997, was appointed in June 1996 as the Director of the Department of Eastern and Western Europe and Deputy Director General for Political Affairs.

Mr. Gounaris' career also includes his appointment as Minister Pleniptentiary in July 1988 which he then became Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Moscow, with parallel accreditation to Mongolia in May 1989 and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Court of St. James with parallel accreditation to Iceland in April 1993.

Ambassador Gounaris began his career by serving in the Greek Navy from 1964-1966, becoming the Attache for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Athens in August 1996, was appointed Consul to the Consulate General of Greece in New York, and then became Head of Section for the Turkey-Cyprus Department for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Athens in April 1973.

The ambassador was also appointed Secretary and then Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Greece to the International Organizations in Geneva in October 1975, D.C.M. of the Greek embassy in Belgrade in November 1979, Head of the American Desk for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Athens in January 1983, and in September 1987, Minister Counsellor and then Minister of the Greek embassy in Bonn.

Ambassador Gounaris was born in Greece on September 7, 1941 and received a degree in Law (LL.M) from the University of Athens in 1964

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