Panagiotis N. Skandalakis

Panagiotis N. Skandalakis was born and raised in Laconia. He studied Medicine at the University of Athens and specialized in Surgery and Vascular Surgery at the Universities of Athens, Amsterdam in the Netherlands, and Atlanta in the USA. In 1981, he was awarded a doctorate from the Medical School of the University of Athens. He is a Professor of Surgical Anatomy and Technique (Clinical) at Emory University in Atlanta, USA, and an Assistant Professor of Surgery at the Medical School of the University of Athens. He served as a Surgery Supervisor at the Academic Medical Center of the University of Amsterdam and as Director of Surgery at the Asclepius Hospital in Voula. In 1989, he was elected as a Member of Parliament for the first time. Since then, he has been re-elected in the elections of June 1989, October 1989, 1990, 1996, and 2000 with the New Democracy party. From 1982 to 1996, he served in Local Government. He is the Secretary of the Hellenic Diaspora of New Democracy, First Vice President of the Special Permanent Committee on Hellenic Diaspora of the Hellenic Parliament, Member of the Special Permanent Committee on National Defense and Foreign Affairs, Member of the Special Permanent Committee on European Affairs, President of the Friendship Group with the Slovenian Parliament, and Member of the Friendship Group with the US Congress. He served as Vice President of the North Atlantic Parliamentary Assembly (NATO), Head of the Greek Interparliamentary Committee at the UN on national issues, Secretary of the Bureau of the Parliament, President of the Economic and Social Committee (ESC) on Foreign Affairs, and Vice President of the ESC on Health and Welfare. He is the author of several scientific books, many of which have been translated into more than 10 languages worldwide, and he has published numerous papers internationally. He has been honored both in Greece and abroad for his contributions to the medical field, his fight against drugs, his contributions to foreign policy, and his work with the Hellenic Diaspora. He speaks English and Italian. He has two sons, Nikos and Giorgos.