Vasilis Papageorgopoulos Explained

Vasilis Papageorgopoulos
Office:Mayor of Thessaloniki
Term Start:1 January 1999
Term End:31 December 2010
Predecessor:Dimitris Dimitriadis
Successor:Yiannis Boutaris
Office1:Deputy Minister of Culture
Primeminister1:Konstantinos Mitsotakis
Term Start1:1991
Term End1:1992
Office2:Member of the Hellenic Parliament
Constituency2:Thessaloniki A
Term Start2:1981
Term End2:1998
Birth Date:27 June 1947
Birth Place:Thessaloniki, Greece
Party:New Democracy
Spouse:Eleni Papageorgopoulou

Vasilis Papageorgopoulos (Greek, Modern (1453-);: Βασίλης Παπαγεωργόπουλος; born 27 June 1947) is a retired Greek sprinter, former mayor of Thessaloniki and convicted felon.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] He won two medals at the European Indoor Championships as well as the bronze medal in the 100 metres at the 1971 European Championships in Athletics. He was named the 1971 Greek Athlete of the Year.

Biography

Papageorgopoulos' personal best in 100 metres was 10.22 seconds, achieved in August 1972 in İzmir. This ranks him twelfth among Greek 100 metre sprinters.[6] He also studied medicine.

Papageorgopoulos first got involved in politics in 1978 when he was elected City councilor of Thessaloniki. He practiced dentistry until 1981, when he was elected as a member of the Greek Parliament, representing Thessaloniki, for the Conservative New Democracy party . From 1 January 1999 to 31 December 2010, Papageorgopoulos was the mayor of Thessaloniki.

Corruption charges

In April 2011, he was among 25 people contacted by an investigating magistrate with a probe into alleged embezzlement of 51.4 million euros of the municipality. He was also accused by his successor Yiannis Boutaris of providing inaccurate financial figures.[7] In February 2013, he was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment for embezzling 17.9 million euro of the Municipality of Thessaloniki while he was mayor.[8] In July 2014, the sentence was reduced to a maximum of 20 years after an appeals court in Thessaloniki ruled that Papageorgopoulos's crimes amounted to acting as "accessory to the stealing of municipal funds while in office.”[9] In July 2015 Papageorgopoulos was granted parole due to health problems.[10]

Honours

1971European Indoor ChampionshipsSofia, Bulgaria5th60 m[11]
European ChampionshipsHelsinki, Finland3rd100 m10.56 s
Mediterranean Gamesİzmir, Turkey1st100 m10.4 s
1972European Indoor ChampionshipsGrenoble, France3rd50 m5.82 s
Olympic GamesMunich, West Germany(sf)*100 mDNS
1974European Indoor ChampionshipsGothenburg, Sweden8th60 m[12]
European ChampionshipsRome, Italy9th (sf)100 m10.44 s
1975Mediterranean GamesAlgiers, Algeria2nd100 metres
1976European Indoor ChampionshipsMunich, West Germany2nd60 metres6.67 s

References

  1. Web site: Καταδικάστηκε σε ισόβια ο Παπαγεωργόπουλος για την υπεξαίρεση στον Δήμο Θεσσαλονίκης - ΤΑ ΝΕΑ. tanea.gr. 26 November 2021.
  2. Web site: Καταδικάστηκε σε Ισοβια o Παπαγεωργοπουλοσ για το σκάνδαλο υπεξαίρεσης στον Δήμο Θεσσαλονίκης . news247.gr. 26 November 2021.
  3. Web site: Καταδικάστηκε σε ισόβια ο Παπαγεωργόπουλος. Newsbeast. 26 November 2021.
  4. Web site: Ένοχος ο Παπαγεωργόπουλος – Καταδικάστηκε σε 12 χρόνια φυλάκιση | Το Ποντικι . topontiki.gr. 26 November 2021.
  5. Web site: Σε κάθειρξη 12 ετών καταδικάστηκε ο Β. Παπαγεωργόπουλος.
  6. http://athletix.org/?p=1894 All time best Balkan athletes, men
  7. [Kathimerini]
  8. Web site: el:Καταδικάστηκε σε ΙΣΟΒΙΑ Ο ΠΑΠΑΓΕΩΡΓΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ για το σκάνδαλο υπεξαίρεσης στον Δήμο Θεσσαλονίκης. http://news247.gr/eidiseis/politiki/enoxos_o_papagewrgopoylos_-_anamenetai_h_epivolh_poinhs.2145542.html. news247.gr. 2 May 2014. el. 27 February 2013.
  9. News: Thessaloniki Ex-Mayor had his Life Sentence Reduced . 14 July 2014. Greek Reporter. 14 July 2014.
  10. Web site: Παπαγεωργόπουλος: Είμαι ελεύθερος χάρη στον ευεργετικό νόμο Παρασκευόπουλου. 28 July 2015.
  11. http://www.maik-richter.de/results/indoor/europe/1971/m71_01.html 1971 European Indoor Championships, men's 60 m final
  12. http://www.maik-richter.de/results/indoor/europe/1974/m74_01.html 1974 European Indoor Championships, men's 60 m final

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