Former Greek President Karolos Papoulias dies

The Greek presidency announced the death of the Greek President Karolos Papoulias at the height of the 2008-2009 economic crisis, on Sunday at the age of 92.

"It is with sadness that we send our last greetings to Karolos Papoulias," Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou said in a statement.

She added that he "honored the highest government institution with his morals and behavior and strongly defended social cohesion and national unity."

Papoulias, who comes from the ranks of the PASOK Socialist Party, was elected president for the first time in 2005 before being re-elected for a second five-year term in 2010 at the beginning of the Greek crisis that plunged the country into the most serious political and economic turmoil in decades.

Then he faced the wrath of the Greeks and his popularity was dealt a fatal blow due to his support for austerity dictated by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

In October 2012, Greece was in the midst of an escalating debt crisis and unpopular wage cuts.

Protesters blocked a patriotic parade in Thessaloniki and chanted "traitor" as 83-year-old President Papoulias passed by.

He left the show angry.

But before leaving, he made sure to make his thoughts clear to the media and his critics.

"We fought for Greece. I was a 15-year-old fighter and I fought against the Nazis and the Germans," Papoulias said.

His father was also a senior officer in the army and fought for Greece.

Carlos Papoulias was one of the first politicians to give up their salaries in solidarity with the "sacrifice of the people".

Papoulias was born in Ioannina in Epirus (Northwest) on the 4th of June 1929 and was active in the anti-Nazi resistance from 1942 to 1944 during his youth.

After studying law in Athens, Milan (Italy) and Cologne (Germany), he became a lawyer in 1963 and remained in this profession until 1981 when Andreas Papandreou appointed him Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

Also during his youth, he was a prominent athlete, the country's pole vault champion, and a member of the national volleyball team.

During the rule of the Colonels (1967-1974) he moved to Germany and became one of the founders of the Greek Socialist Movement (Pasok) led by Andreas Papandreou.

He was a Member of Parliament from 1977 to 2000 and twice served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in socialist governments (1985-1989 and 1993-1996) and led PASOK's pro-Arab as well as Serb policy during the Yugoslav war in the 1990s.

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