Naming event of the hall of the Ministry of Development in the ‘Tasos Banou’ hall

In the presence of the President of the Republic, Mrs. Katerina Sakellaropoulou, the naming ceremony of the meeting room “711” of the Ministry of Development and Investments, in the “Tasos Banos” room, took place today, Tuesday, July 5, in honor of the distinguished civil servant, who passed away on 2020.

In a modest ceremony, the Minister of Development and Investments Mr. Adonis Georgiadis and the Minister of State Mr. Akis Skertsos, who were co-organizers of the event, welcomed associates, friends and family members of the late Tasos Banou.

The Governor of the Bank of Greece, Mr. Giannis Stournaras, the former Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Evangelos Venizelos, the former Minister of Finance, Mr. Filippos Sachinidis, the President of the Legal Council of the State, Mrs. Eugenia Veloni, the President of the Legal Council took the floor. of the State Mr. Ioanna Karanasos and the brother of the late Mr. Chronis Banos, who read the thank you message from the son of Tasos Banos, Mr. Giorgos Banos.

The event was graced by the presence of the Minister of Finance Mr. Christos Staikouras, the Deputy Minister of Social Security Mr. Panos Tsakloglou, the former Minister of Finance Mr. Giorgos Zanias, the General Secretary of Private Investments and PPPs Mr. Orestis Kavalakis, the General Secretary of Public of Investments and NSRF Mr. Dimitris Skalkos, the Special Secretary for ERDF and Cohesion Fund Program Management Mr. Giorgos Zervos and the Special Secretary for ECB Program Management Ms. Niki Dandolou.

From the stage of the event, speakers spoke highly of Tasso Bano, noting:

Adonis Georgiades: “It is a due tribute to a public servant who honored the concept of a public servant with the greatest precision and self-denial that one can imagine. I had the extraordinary honor of knowing Tasso Bano during the critical decade of the bankruptcy, the measures austerity and memoranda. It was a difficult time, where every politician had to take a stand with courage and at personal cost, given that today is also the anniversary of the 2015 referendum. I had the opportunity to work with him as Minister of Health. He helped me critical decisions and I got to know his legal depth, which really was extremely helpful to all of us who were making decisions.”

Akis Schertsos: “Tasos gave a very big fight to keep the country in Europe. Tasos for me was a patriot, a reputable jurist and at the same time a man who was human. And I think that those who serve this policy especially the quality of Tasos should keep alive, how you can serve something bigger than yourself and at the same time be grounded in human, listen to the person, listen to their needs and serve them. Tasos did this in the best possible way and taught us all ethos”.

Giannis Stournaras: “Whatever I can say about Tasos is little. I will focus more on his humor, his self-mockery, even in the most difficult moments, his profound patriotism, he was deeply memorable. He believed a lot in what we did and it shows today. I remember in the Parliament he was telling me, “come out and speak openly”. Do not hesitate to say that it is the biggest financial aid that Greece has received, that any country has received in economic history”.

Evangelos Venizelos: “I found him here in 2011 when I took over in the most difficult period, the darkest period of the crisis, the duties of the Minister of Finance. And I find a Tasso, who actually played with our nerves, that is, he wanted to test everyone’s breaking point , to see how long the political personnel of that period are capable of taking responsibility. The real definition of populism is a political power, which is not willing to take any unpopular decision. So, the measure of unpopularity is how many unpopular decisions you are ready to make to receive. So Tasos knew this very well.”

Philip Sachinides: “With this initiative you are not just honoring a conscientious public servant, but all those who in the difficult years of the crisis gave themselves to the battle to save the country from disorderly bankruptcy. Today’s initiative is a practical recognition of his enormous contribution in the difficult years of the memorandums. He worked with many of us and we all owe him a lot. Without his advice I don’t know where we would be today.”

Eugenia Veloni: “As the President of the Legal Council of the State and also as a legal advisor, he served in critical ministries. The Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Environment and Energy, the Ministry of Finance, with the latter being recognized by all as a milestone in his career due to the multiple assistance he provided to the political and official actors at the time in their struggle to save the country and its stay in the European framework and the extremely large law-making work he offered and in fact under very difficult conditions especially in the period from 2009 to 2013. Numerous legislative texts , laws, presidential decrees, ministerial decisions bear the seal of Tasos”.

Ioanna Karanasou: “I will remember the first day he greeted me with a smile, even though he was very tired, and told me that for better or worse, we belong to that class of people who are activated by adversity and go into battle to give. His second conversation was that “here you came you will cry a lot for the homeland and many times”. And that’s how it happened. “Like me”, he tells me, “I have cried too many times but I hope we are on the right side of history”.

George Banos: “Despite events and movements like today’s about things that my father would feel embarrassed about, as his son I feel proud that his hard fight and dedication to the vision of a better Greece is publicly recognized by his associates and friends I thank each of you individually for his presence and I can’t help but feel that as long as he remains alive in our memory, a part of him is still here.”

At the end of the event, the honorary plaque with the name of Tasos Banou was unveiled, which was placed at the entrance of the hall.