Fofi Gennimata

Fotini "Fofi" Gennimata (Greek: Φωτεινή "Φώφη" Γεννηματά [ˈfofi ʝenimaˈta]; 17 November 1964 – 25 October 2021) was a Greek politician who served as president of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) from 2015 to 2021.

During her tenure as party leader, she also co-founded and led the Democratic Alignment and the Movement for Change, two successive political alliances of centre-left parties formed around PASOK. She was the daughter of Georgios Gennimatas, a high-profile government minister during the PASOK administrations of the 1980s and 1990s.

Gennimata served as a minister in the Cabinet of George Papandreou between 2009 and 2011, first as Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare and later as Alternate Minister of Education, Lifelong Learning and Religious Affairs.

Early life and education

Gennimata was born in Ampelokipoi, Athens, the daughter of PASOK politician Georgios Gennimatas. She graduated from the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Athens in 1987. When at university, she was a member of the socialist student union.

Political career

From 2001 to 2004, she served as a member of PASOK's Central Committee, and from 2003 to 2009 she was a member of the Executive Bureau and the Political Council of PASOK. In August 2002 she was named PASOK candidate in the 2002 local elections for the Super-Prefecture of Athens and Piraeus, elections she won in the second round with 56.3% of the votes. She was re-elected in the first round of the 2006 local elections with 43.4% of the votes. Few days before the 2007 legislative elections, Gennimata resigned as mayor to lead PASOK's regional candidacy, but the Supreme Court blocked this move as ruled that according to Article 57 of the Constitution of Greece, local government officials cannot stand for election as MPs until they have seen their term out.

From October 2009 to September 2010, Gennimata was Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare in the Cabinet of George Papandreou, and from September 2010 to November 2011, she served as an Alternate Minister of Education, Lifelong Learning and Religious Affairs in the same cabinet.

In 2012, Gennimata was appointed a spokesperson for PASOK.

Gennimata was elected as Leader of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement at their tenth conference in 2015, after Evangelos Venizelos stepped down as leader a year before the conclusion of his term. She won the leadership election with 51% of the vote, beating Odysseas Konstantinopoulos and Andreas Loverdos.

On 30 August 2015, together with the chairman of DIMAR Thanasis Theocharopoulos she announced that both parties would unite in a single candidacy called Democratic Alignment (DISI) for the September 2015 snap election and she would be the one to lead it. The candidacy won 17 seats, 4 more than the seats PASOK won.

On 20 November 2017 Gennimata was elected as leader of Movement for Change with 56% of the vote, beating Nikos Androulakis. 

On 24 November 2017, she was re-elected as president of PASOK. In early 2021, Gennimata announced that she was seeking her re-election as leader of Movement for Change. On 12 October 2021, Gennimata was hospitalized due to health reasons and announced her withdrawal from the party leadership.

Personal life and health

Gennimata was the daughter of the prominent socialist minister Georgios Gennimatas and Kakia Vergou. Her mother, Kakia Vergou, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1984. She died in September 1993, at the age of 54. Her father Georgios Gennimatas, was diagnosed with lung cancer in early 1992 and passed away on 25 April 1994 at age 54.

In 2008 Gennimata was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. Gennimata spoke openly about her health problem. On 11 October 2021 Gennimata was hospitalized with ileus due to metastatic cancer. On 25 October 2021 Gennimata died at Evangelismos Hospital of Athens at the age of 56. The Greek parliament held a minute of silence and decided to suspend its sessions for one week to honor her. The Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis declared a national day of mourning for 27 October 2021, the day Gennimata's funeral is to be held.