Eftychia "Effie" Achtsioglou (Giannitsa, 4 January 1985), is a Greek politician who served as Minister for Labour, Social Insurance and Social Solidarity from 2016 to 2019. Since 2019 she has been a MP for SYRIZA.
Early life and education
She was born in 1985, in Giannitsa. She completed her studies with the grade of Excellent in the AUTH Law School and in 2009 she acquired - again with the grade of Excellent - her postgraduate degree in Civil Law and Political Science from the same school.
She worked in the Centre of International and European Economic Law (CIEEL) as part of a research scholarship, while in 2014 she completed her studies in Labour Law under the supervision of professor Aris Kazakos as part of a scholarship in the State Scholarship Foundation .
Occupation
Achtsioglou is a Thessaloniki lawyer. She was also a research partner of the SYRIZA EP group in Brussels starting July 2014.
Additionally, she worked in the European Parliament, alongside the Department of Civil Law, Political Procedure and Labour Law of the Law School of the Aristotle University from 2009 till 2013, and as a researcher in the Centre of International and European Economic Law (CIEEL).
Political career
In 2015 she stood as a candidate for the national ballot of SYRIZA in both the January as well as the September elections. Within SYRIZA she has steered party organs, both as a member of the central committee, and as a member of the A’ Thessaloniki committee.
As the executive of the political office of the Ministry of Labour, she was responsible for negotiations of the Greek government with the institutions on issues regarding the job market and social security. She has served as a member of the executive council of OAED and as a member of ASE.
Governmental positions (2016–2019) From 5 of November 2016 to 9 July 2019, she was the Minister for Labour, Social Insurance and Social Solidarity in the Tsipras II cabinet. During her tenure she was, among other things, linked to an expansion of collective bargaining, a rise of the general minimum wage by 11% and by 27% for young people specifically (650 Euros), the abolishment of sub-minimum wage, the lowering of unemployment and of unregistered employment, the creation of OPEKA and new procedures for adoption.
Greek MP (since 2019) For the 2019 election she was placed second on the national ballot list of SYRIZA and elected to the Hellenic Parliament.
In the June 2023 Greek legislative election she was elected as an MP representing the B2 Western Athens Constituency. Following the decision of Alexis Tsipras to step down as party leader, she announced on 12 July 2023 that she would run for the office of the President of SYRIZA. However, her bid for the SYRIZA leadership was defeated by her rival Stefanos Kasselakis on 26th July 2023.
Personal life
During her election campaign in 2019, she revealed that she was in a relationship with then Minister of State Dimitris Tzanakopoulos. In January 2021 she stated that she was expecting a child.
Works
Monographies: Ε. Αχτσιόγλου, Ι. Κουμασίδης και Σ. Μίτας. (2012). ‘Ξαναπιάνοντας το νήμα...για τη σχέση δημοκρατίας και σοσιαλισμού’, εκδ. Θύραθεν. E. Achtsioglou, (2010). Sustainable Development and Its Judicial Review in Greek Case Law: A conceptual and methodological analysis. LAP Lambert Academic Publishing.