THanasis Athanasiou

Thanasis Athanasiou was born in Alonissos and is an economist with a master's degree in economics from the University of London. He worked at ATE, at the Permanent Greek Representation in Brussels for the EEC, and in the private sector on EU programs. He has authored and published monographs including "Economic Bibliography of the Agricultural Sector 1830-1980," "Strategic Planning (The Case of Banks)," and "Farmer Education (The Case of KE.G.E)," while also engaging systematically in the translation of essays. He was a member of the student organization of the Democratic Youth of Lambrakis, facing persecution, trials, and convictions before the dictatorship. With the imposition of the dictatorship on April 21, 1967, he evaded arrest, went underground, and joined the anti-dictatorship organization "Patriotic Front." Subsequently, he became a founding member and later secretary of the Panhellenic Anti-Dictatorship Student Organization "Rigas Feraios." He was captured by the junta's authorities, tried by a special military court, and sentenced to 21 years in prison. He was held in various prisons from April 1968 until August 1973, when he was released under the general amnesty. He has documented prison incidents in "Images of Prison" (Nefeli Publications, 1986). He occasionally writes articles on political and ideological issues for various publications.