Andreas Xanthos

Andreas Xanthos MP
Ανδρέας Ξάνθου
Minister of Health
Incumbent
Assumed office 23 September 2015
Prime Minister	Alexis Tsipras
Preceded by	Athanasios Dimopoulos
Alternate Minister of Health
In office 27 January 2015 – 28 August 2015
Prime Minister	Alexis Tsipras
Member of the Hellenic Parliament for Rethymno
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 May 2012
Personal details
Political party	Syriza
Profession	Microbiologist

Andreas Xanthos is a Greek medical doctor and politician who is currently the Minister of Health in the Second Tsipras Cabinet and a Member of the Hellenic Parliament for Rethymno on Crete. He previously served as an Alternate Minister of Health in the First Tsipras Cabinet and is a member of the Central Committee of Syriza.

Education

Xanthos graduated from the medical school of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.^[1]

Medical career

Xanthos specialises in microbiology and worked as a national health service doctor at the health centres in Perama and in Rethymno. He was, for several years, chairman of the doctors' union in Rethymno and also a member of the General Council of the Federation of Greek Hospital Doctors (OENGE) and the General Assembly of the Panhellenic Medical Association (PIS).^[1]

Xanthos took an active role in the establishment of a Voluntary Social Solidarity Clinic in Rethymno in 2008.^[1]

Political career

Xanthos is a member of the Central Committee of Syriza. He was first elected as a Member of the Hellenic Parliament for Rethymno, Crete, in the May 2012 legislative election and was subsequently reelected in June 2012, January 2015 and September 2015.^[1]

In January 2015, Xanthos was appointed as an Alternate Minister of Health in the First Cabinet of Alexis Tsipras.^[2] In April, he claimed between 2.5 and 3 million people are "lost in the bureaucracy of a National Health System" and announced plans to cover uninsured Greeks.^[3]

Following the formation of the Second Cabinet of Alexis Tsipras, in September 2015, Xanthos was appointed as the Minister of Health. Pavlos Polakis was also appointed to the Ministry of Health as an Alternate Minister of Health.^[4] It was noted that both Xanthos and Polakis were Cretan ministers, two of only three in the government.^[5] In an interview with Kathimerini in October 2015, Xanthos addressed the frailty of the National Health System, noting that he was reversing the six year trend of reducing the number of staff in the Service by hiring 3,400 additional staff members by 2016.^[6]

In an interview with Mega, a television station, in November 2015, Xanthos acknowledged that "[t]he healthcare system condition is on the verge of falling apart and the government knows this." He also agreed with the warnings of doctors that the healthcare system was constantly on the verge of a blackout due to the lack of staff.^[7] In November, Xanthos also met with Elhadj As Sy, Secretary General of the IFRC, on a two-day visit to Greece.^[8]

References

1. "Andreas Xanthos". Boussias Conferences. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
2. "The new cabinet". Kathimerini. 27 January 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
3. Makris, A. (23 April 2015). "The Greek Health Ministry's Proposals for Health Coverage of Uninsured". Greek Reporter. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
4. "Greek Cabinet as of September 23, 2015". Kathimerini. 23 September 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
5. "New Greek government announced. Three Cretan MPs in two Ministries". Crete Post. 22 September 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
6. Adamopoulos, Anastassios (25 October 2015). "Greek Health Minister Wary of Frail National Health System". Greek Reporter. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
7. Zikakou, Ioanna (1 November 2015). "Greek Health Minister Xanthos' Warning about the Greek Healthcare System". Greek Reporter. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
8. "Greece: IFRC Secretary General calls for increased response to humanitarian and health needs for vulnerable migrants". International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2016.