Simitis, the former prime minister of Greece, passes away at age 88

Costas Simitis, the former prime minister of Greece who led the nation into the single currency of the European Union in 2001, passed away at the age of 88 on Sunday in his Peloponnese vacation home.

The PASOK socialist party was led by reformist and law professor Simitis, who served as prime minister until 2004.

“I bid farewell with sadness and respect to Costas Simitis, a worthy and noble political opponent, but also the Prime Minister who accompanied Greece in its great national steps,” Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the conservative prime minister of Greece, said in a statement.

Four days of mourning were declared by the administration, and the state will pay for his funeral on Thursday, January 9.

Critics claim Simitis did not go far enough in curbing corruption, despite his reputation for cutting back on excessive government expenditure.

Greece nearly quit the euro zone five years after he left office due to an extraordinary ten-year debt crisis. Economists believe that the graft and corruption that occurred during and before Simitis’ tenure are what caused that disaster.

Simitis had spent the last few days on holiday at his Peloponnese summer home near Athens. Early in the morning, the Corinth hospital’s director notified local media that he was taken unconscious to the hospital, where his death was officially confirmed. His two daughters and wife survived him.

In order to qualify Athens for membership in the euro zone, Simitis lowered the public debt and budget deficit during his administration.

Three years after the Greek debt crisis broke out, in 2012, he wrote a book in which he criticized how the EU and Greek politicians handled it.

In that book, “Derailment,” he also charged that the European Commission was ignoring his conservative successor’s excessive expenditure.