Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou

Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou is a politician with a long career in both European and Greek politics. She holds global and local experience in high-ranking positions. During her career she has been mainly involved in European integration, peace, sustainable development, human rights, economic affairs and international cooperation. Her work has been recognised with several high honors and awards by states and institutions. She is currently a Member of the UN Alliance of Civilisations Chair at Euro-Mediterranean University of Morocco (UEMF).

She was elected First Vice-President of the European Parliament and served two terms as Vice-President (2007–2009 and 2009–2012), the highest position ever held by a Greek person in that institution.

During her fifteen years (1999–2014) as a Member of the European Parliament, in the European People’s Party group (EPP), she was active in significant parliamentary committees, notably those on Economic and Monetary Affairs, Transport and Tourism, Budgetary Control, Regional Development, Social Affairs and Gender Equality. She worked on the strengthening of the European integration as well as the international role of the EU. She has undertaken an active role in delegations in the Mediterranean, Middle East, Caucasus countries and Latin America and has taken part and led a number of missions in different parts of the world.

In 2014 she was appointed President of the Konstantinos Karamanlis Institute for Democracy in Greece.

Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou was elected as the Regional Governor the Ionian islands, Greece, serving from September 2019 to December 2023. She was the first woman to ever hold this position. In this role, she focused on promoting responsible tourism, cultural heritage and conservation, sustainable development and modern infrastructure. She also addressed environmental and climate challenges and managed local issues in the framework of the UN 2030 Agenda of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou is also active in civil society and a founding member since 1987 and then President of the Women of Europe International Association (AIPFE) across the EU and beyond.