George Stavrakakis 1954 – 2015

The 20th of February 2015, our dear colleague George Stavrakakis passed away. He was a significant figure for our research center, for Seismology in general, as well for representing our country to Europe. His memory will remain alive in the conscience of Greek people for his reassuring speech during seismic crises in the country. His serene personality and suave character made him especially beloved to other people. His skills, work ethics and sense of social justice led him to the highest positions of public administration and representation in the European Parliament.

He was born the 13th of October, 1954, in Ierapetra, Crete, a place which he loved dearly.

His lustrous career in science began with his studies at the Department of Physics in the University of Athens (1978), followed by his postgraduate studies in Geophysics at the University of Munster in Germany (1981), in Engineering Seismology at the University of Tsukuba in Japan (1985) and
his Doctoral studies in Seismology at the University of Athens (1986).

He worked as a Seismologist in the Earthquake Planning and Protection Organization (EPPO) (1983-1987) and as a Researcher at the Institute of Geodynamics of the National Observatory of Athens (1989-1994).

He was the Director of the Institute of Geodynamics of the National Observatory of Athens for the period 1995-2008.

For several years he was a member and president of the Seismic Risk Assessment Committee and of the Earthquake Planning and Protection Organization. He was the Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Earthquake Planning and Protection Organization (1997-2005) and a member
of the Board of Directors of the Institute of Engineering Seismology and Earthquake Engineering (1999-2000).

During his career he took part and coordinated several major European research projects and promoted significant collaborations between European research institutes on issues concerning research in the field of geodynamics. He was a member of several national and international
scientific committees, with extensive published scientific work.

He was the first vice chair of the regional development committee in the European parliament and he also participated in the committees of budgetary control and budgets. He was also a member of the special committee for the policy challenges and budgetary resources for a sustainable European Union after 2013. During this time he also participated in the EU-China and EU-Japan Joint Parliamentary Committees.

On behalf of the National Observatory of Athens we would like to express our condolence to his family, his wife and two sons.

The President of the National Observatory of Athens