Vasilis Papageorgopoulos (Greek: Βασίλης Παπαγεωργόπουλος; born 27 June 1947) is a retired Greek sprinter, former mayor of Thessaloniki and convicted felon.[1][2][3][4][5] He won two medals at the European Indoor Championships as well as the bronze medal in the 100 metres at the 1971 European Championships in Athletics. He was named the 1971 Greek Athlete of the Year.
Vasilis Papageorgopoulos | |
|---|---|
| Βασίλης Παπαγεωργόπουλος | |
 Papageorgopoulos in 2009 | |
| Mayor of Thessaloniki | |
| In office 1 January 1999 – 31 December 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Dimitris Dimitriadis |
| Succeeded by | Yiannis Boutaris |
| Deputy Minister of Culture | |
| In office 1991–1992 | |
| Prime Minister | Konstantinos Mitsotakis |
| Member of the Hellenic Parliament | |
| In office 1981–1998 | |
| Constituency | Thessaloniki A |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 27 June 1947 Thessaloniki, Greece |
| Political party | New Democracy |
| Spouse | Eleni Papageorgopoulou |
| Alma mater | Aristotle University of Thessaloniki |
| Occupation |
|
Biography
editPapageorgopoulos' personal best in 100 metres was 10.22 seconds, achieved in August 1972 in İzmir. This ranks him twelfth among Greek 100 metre sprinters.[6] He also studied medicine.
Papageorgopoulos first got involved in politics in 1978 when he was elected City councilor of Thessaloniki. He practiced dentistry until 1981, when he was elected as a member of the Greek Parliament, representing Thessaloniki, for the Conservative New Democracy party [citation needed]. From 1 January 1999 to 31 December 2010, Papageorgopoulos was the mayor of Thessaloniki.
Corruption charges
editIn April 2011, he was among 25 people contacted by an investigating magistrate with a probe into alleged embezzlement of 51.4 million euros of the municipality. He was also accused by his successor Yiannis Boutaris of providing inaccurate financial figures.[7] In February 2013, he was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment for embezzling 17.9 million euro of the Municipality of Thessaloniki while he was mayor.[8] In July 2014, the sentence was reduced to a maximum of 20 years after an appeals court in Thessaloniki ruled that Papageorgopoulos's crimes amounted to acting as "accessory to the stealing of municipal funds while in office.”[9] In July 2015 Papageorgopoulos was granted parole due to health problems.[10]
Honours
edit| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | European Indoor Championships | Sofia, Bulgaria | 5th | 60 m | [11] |
| European Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 3rd | 100 m | 10.56 s | |
| Mediterranean Games | İzmir, Turkey | 1st | 100 m | 10.4 s | |
| 1972 | European Indoor Championships | Grenoble, France | 3rd | 50 m | 5.82 s |
| Olympic Games | Munich, West Germany | (sf)* | 100 m | DNS | |
| 1974 | European Indoor Championships | Gothenburg, Sweden | 8th | 60 m | [12] |
| European Championships | Rome, Italy | 9th (sf) | 100 m | 10.44 s | |
| 1975 | Mediterranean Games | Algiers, Algeria | 2nd | 100 metres | |
| 1976 | European Indoor Championships | Munich, West Germany | 2nd | 60 metres | 6.67 s |
- At the 1972 Summer Olympics he was forced to scratch from the semi-finals after he had pulled a groin muscle in the quarter-finals.
References
edit- ^ "Καταδικάστηκε σε ισόβια ο Παπαγεωργόπουλος για την υπεξαίρεση στον Δήμο Θεσσαλονίκης - ΤΑ ΝΕΑ". tanea.gr. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
- ^ "Καταδικάστηκε σε Ισοβια o Παπαγεωργοπουλοσ για το σκάνδαλο υπεξαίρεσης στον Δήμο Θεσσαλονίκης". news247.gr. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
- ^ "Καταδικάστηκε σε ισόβια ο Παπαγεωργόπουλος". Newsbeast. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
- ^ "Ένοχος ο Παπαγεωργόπουλος – Καταδικάστηκε σε 12 χρόνια φυλάκιση | Το Ποντικι". topontiki.gr. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
- ^ "Σε κάθειρξη 12 ετών καταδικάστηκε ο Β. Παπαγεωργόπουλος".
- ^ All time best Balkan athletes, men Archived 2014-01-15 at the Wayback Machine - The Athletics Site
- ^ Kathimerini: Ex-Thessaloniki mayor to face embezzlement probe. April 28, 2011
- ^ Καταδικάστηκε σε ΙΣΟΒΙΑ Ο ΠΑΠΑΓΕΩΡΓΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ για το σκάνδαλο υπεξαίρεσης στον Δήμο Θεσσαλονίκης (in Greek). news247.gr. 27 February 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
- ^ "Thessaloniki Ex-Mayor had his Life Sentence Reduced". Greek Reporter. 14 July 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
- ^ "Παπαγεωργόπουλος: Είμαι ελεύθερος χάρη στον ευεργετικό νόμο Παρασκευόπουλου". 28 July 2015.
- ^ 1971 European Indoor Championships, men's 60 m final - Die Leichtatletik-Statistik-Seite
- ^ 1974 European Indoor Championships, men's 60 m final - Die Leichtatletik-Statistik-Seite
External links
edit- Website of Vasilis Papageorgopoulos
- Profile at the Thessaloniki Association "The White Tower"
- Vasileios Papageorgopoulos at Olympics.com
Media related to Vasilis Papageorgopoulos at Wikimedia Commons