Athanassios Athanassopoulos, the new Commandant of the Harbour Corps/Hellenic Coast Guard
Rear Admiral Athanassios Athanassopoulos, fourth in the hierarchy of the Hellenic Coast Guard is now its new Commandant.
In an unexpected move, earlier from the expiration of Admiral Dimitris Bandias’ tenure as head of the Harbour Corps and Coast Guard of Greece, the Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, presiding the Governmental Committee of National Defence, together with its the respective members, announced this and other changes.
Rear Admiral Athanassopoulos until now the head of the Inspectorate of the HCG, as Inspector General, will take over on Monday following a suggestion from the Shipping and Aegean Minister Miltiades Varvitsiotis. In this he stressed the fact that Rear Admiral Athanassopoulos materialised successfully the restructuring of the Hellenic Harbour Corps/Coast Guard and secondly that it will be better for the new Commandant to be timely ready for the second wave of promotions and retirements in the Harbour and Coast Guard Corps.
The New Commandant was born in 1960 in Ilia, Western Peloponnese and graduated from the Pantion University of Political Sciences in 1977, did his military service in the land forces and then entre the Naval Academy of Greece. He has served in various directorates within the Shipping Ministry and in other positions within Greece, such as Lefkas Island as Harbour Master as well as abroad, namely as Shipping Attaché in Sydney, Australia, Harbour Master in Patras; another sensitive post due to immigration issues. As a Commander he become head of the Safety and Security Inspectorate.
We wish Admiral Athanassopoulos all the best of luck in his new position particularly under the circumstances prevailing in this sensitive post and region; we also congratulate Admiral Bandias for his successful service in the Harbour/Coast Guard Corps during a very tensed period.
