Nikos THemelis

Nikos Themelis (1947-2011) was born in Athens and studied at the Law School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He then pursued postgraduate studies in Germany on European Communities topics. From 1981, he was a close associate of former Prime Minister Kostas Simitis throughout his subsequent political career—in the Ministries of Agriculture, National Economy, Education, Industry, and finally at the Maximos Mansion during Simitis's tenure as Prime Minister (1996-2004). He also worked at the Agricultural Bank, the Ministry of Finance, and the Legal Service of the Council of Ministers in Brussels. He made his debut in the literary world in 1998. He wrote seven novels ("The Quest" 1998, "The Overthrow" 2000, "The Glimmer" 2003, "For a Company Among Us" 2005, "One Life, Two Lives" 2007, "The Truths of Others" 2008, and "The Agreement of Dreams" 2010), with references to Hellenism over the last three centuries, both in the diaspora and within the emerging modern Greek bourgeoisie. His books have been translated into German, Italian, Romanian, and Turkish. In 2000, he was awarded the State Literature Prize and the "Diavazo" literary magazine award for his novel "The Overthrow," and in 2009, he received the "Pioneering Creation-Yiannos Kranidiotis" award in Nicosia. He passed away on August 20, 2011, at the age of 64, after a long battle with cancer.