The appointment of new Secretaries-General to various ministries is announced as follows:
Secretary General for Spatial Planning and Urban Environment at the Ministry of Environment and Energy: Evangelos Kyriazopoulos
Secretary General for Culture at the Ministry of Culture: Olympia Vikatos
Secretary General for Shipping and Ports at the Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy: Emmanouil St. Koutoulakis
Secretary General for the Aegean and Island Policy at the Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy: Fotis Maggos
Brief biographies of the new Secretaries General follow:
Evangelos Kyriazopoulos, Secretary General for Spatial Planning and Urban Environment
Mr. Evangelos Kyriazopoulos assumed the duties of Secretary General for Ports, Port Policy, and Maritime Investments at the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Island Policy on August 5, 2019, and following the issuance of Presidential Decree 77/2023, he assumed, with expanded responsibilities, the duties of Secretary General for Shipping and Ports.
He is an Economist and Regional Planner with a Master’s degree from the Department of Maritime Studies at Cardiff College (Wales). He holds a Ph.D. with a general thesis topic of “Ports, Spatial Planning, and Regional Development,” and is currently working on a postdoctoral dissertation on “Maritime Spatial Planning – Blue Growth” at Panteion University.
He has served as an instructor at the Hellenic Military Academy and the Department of Public Administration at Panteion University, and has participated as an instructor in three graduate programs (Panteion University, University of Crete, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens). He has taught shipping, logistics, and spatial-strategic planning at the Institute of Public Administration as well as at public and private vocational training institutes, vocational training centers, and colleges.
In the private sector, he has worked in the fields of maritime research, shipping, banking, and maritime journalism. He has also served as a Senior Researcher in the Spatial Planning Directorate of the Ministry of the Environment and as a scientific advisor to ministers in the Ministries of the Environment and Shipping. He has participated in various committees and working groups at the European Commission, the OECD, and in Greece on issues related to spatial planning, maritime spatial planning, coastal management, island policy, diving parks, aquaculture, transportation networks, industrial parks, tourism spatial planning issues, and urban/regional projects.
He served as a special advisor to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during the latter’s tenure as Minister of Administrative Reform. He subsequently served in local government as Secretary General of the Municipality of Galatsi and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Institute of Local Government of KEDE (2015–2019).
She has authored numerous academic and other publications, with a particular interest in maritime tradition.
Olympia Vikatos, Secretary General for Culture
Ms. Olympia Vikatos holds a Ph.D. in archaeology and has served at the Ministry of Culture since 1989. Since 2023, she has held the position of Director General of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage at the Ministry. She has conducted numerous archaeological excavations in Elis, Messenia, Aetolia-Acarnania, and Lefkada. She has been instrumental in the creation of more than 10 museums. She has been responsible for and directed more than 30 programs for the conservation, restoration, rehabilitation, and promotion of archaeological sites and monuments within the framework of co-funded programs. He has participated in dozens of scientific conferences and workshops. He has published numerous articles, monographs, books, and studies (over 180) in prestigious Greek and international scientific and archaeological journals. For many years, she served as a regular member of the Central Archaeological Council, the Council of Museums, and the Local Councils for Monuments of Western Greece and the Ionian Islands. Throughout her career, she has distinguished herself for her coordination and sound management of financial resources and human resources. She has received significant honors.
Emmanouil St. Koutoulakis, Secretary General for Shipping and Ports
Mr. Emmanouil St. Koutoulakis assumes the duties of Secretary General for Shipping and Ports at the Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy. He is an Engineer in Spatial Planning, Urban Planning, and Regional Development, holds a master’s degree in Spatial Planning and Regional Policy, and has conducted doctoral research and taught in the field of International and European Relations at the University of Piraeus.
This follows his tenure as Secretary General for Aegean and Island Policy (2021–2026), during which he played a decisive role in shaping and implementing national policy on insularity and integrated maritime policy in the island region, as well as the European Commission’s Strategy for Islands and Coastal Areas.
He led the drafting team for the institutional framework of the National Strategy for Integrated Maritime Policy in the Island Region (Island Policy Code – Law 4832/2021), introducing innovative policies and financing tools that helped secure significant resources from the NSRF 2021–2027 for port infrastructure, maritime transport, and the modernization of the Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy’s vehicles and equipment.
Throughout his public career, he has addressed issues of strategic planning and European policies in the fields of shipping, maritime transport, the blue economy, insularity, infrastructure resilience, and sustainable regional development. He currently heads the Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy’s Working Group on the negotiation of the European Union’s new Multiannual Financial Framework for 2028–2034, with a focus on developing specific financing instruments for shipping, maritime transport, port infrastructure, and the islands.
He has served as an expert for international and European organizations on public sector reform projects, and has coordinated or participated in numerous development studies and programs for local and central government agencies. He has significant experience in the design and management of European funding, strategic public policy planning, and the administration of complex development programs.
He has served as a Special Advisor to the Ministry of Development and Competitiveness (2010–2012), the Ministry of Labor (2014–2015), and the Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy (2019–2021), focusing on European policies, public and private investments, the blue economy, insularity, and digital transformation.
Fotis Maggos, Secretary General for the Aegean and Island Policy
Mr. Fotis Maggos was born in Lipsi on October 22, 1973, and is the father of four children. In 1993, he graduated from the Lipsi Junior and Senior High School and was admitted to the Department of Physical Education and Sports Science at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. He completed his military service with the rank of infantry sergeant.
Since 1998, he has worked as a physical education teacher, initially on an hourly basis and later as a substitute teacher, and in 2004 he was appointed to the public school system after passing the 2002 ASEP competitive examination.
He served in education for a total of 17 years, while also engaging in active social and local government work.
He was elected Mayor of Lipsi and took office on September 1, 2014. He has been re-elected three consecutive times, a fact that reflects the broad trust and support of the local community in him. During her tenure as mayor, she has implemented significant projects in infrastructure, social cohesion, environmental protection, and sustainable development, contributing decisively to improving the quality of life for residents and the island’s development trajectory.
He has many years of experience in island policy, local government, development planning, and securing resources for the country’s island regions, and he is fluent in English, French, and Italian.