Thanos Plevris was appointed as the new Greek migration minister on Saturday, June 28, succeeding Makis Voridis.   

The appointment of Plevris follows the wave of parliamentary resignations after the European prosecutor implicated Greek ministers in corruption allegations to defraud the European Union’s agricultural budget. 

On his website, Plevris describes his values as nationalist and religious, describing his stance on justice as "stricter punishments and real execution" and immigration as "hard immigration policy."

Opposition reacts 

On Saturday, the news portal Politico reported the opposition’s reaction to Plevris’s appointment. The New Left party called his appointment "a message of hatred, racism, authoritarianism." Politico cited a statement Plevris made in 2011 during an event hosted by the right-wing magazine Patria, where he said, "border security cannot exist if there are no casualties and, to be clear, if there are no deaths."

Another opposition party, Syriza, also reportedly slammed the appointment, saying, "The far-right line of Mitsotakis continues unabated with the choice of Thanos Plevris, an inhumane, dead-end and frightening line overall for the refugee issue and the image of the country."

In an email, InfoMigrants reached out to Plevris for a comment on the opposition’s criticism, but he has not responded at the time of writing.

Going hard on migration 

Greece, geographically located at Europe’s external borders, has been an entry point for many people irregularly entering the European bloc. 

According to the Greek Ministry for Immigration and Asylum, 56,066 irregular immigrants were registered last year — around 155 per day.  

In a bid to manage the number of irregular arrivals, Greece has continuously introduced tough migration legislation. Last month, Athens introduced legislation that would strip irregular migrants of the possibility to apply for residency. The new law is also set to increase penalties for rejected asylum seekers and speed up returns to their home countries. 

Last week, more than 1,300 people were reported to have reached the Greek island of Crete. Athens sent several naval vessels to the southern Mediterranean to intercept boat departures and accused Libya of not doing enough to prevent irregular arrivals.  

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said last week that Libya should cooperate with Greece and Europe to help halt a spike in migration flows from the north African state.

Read AlsoGreece to toughen law for rejected asylum seekers

Historical political career and affiliations 

Plevris has served as a Member of the Greek Parliament since 2019 under the New Democracy Party.  

His previous party, the Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS), described by political scholars as a “radical right wing party" failed to secure a party placement in the May 2012 national elections. 

Previous parliamentary positions Plevris held with LAOS include participating in the committees of Justice, Constitutional Revision, Institutions, and Transparency (2007-2012). In 2009, he was elected to represent Greece in the European Parliament (MEP) as a member of the LAOS party, participating in the Security and Petitions Committees. 

Plevris’s move to the more mainstream center-right New Democracy marked his shift from hardline right-wing groups to more mainstream center-right. 

In 2021, he was appointed Minister of Health.  

Plevris graduated from the University of Athens Law School and has a master’s degree from the University of Heidelberg. In 2006, he completed his post-doctorate degree from the University of Athens Law School.