With tears in her eyes, Daphne Simitis bids farewell to her husband and former prime minister. His daughters, followed by her, and placed white flowers on his grave.
Military honors are being paid to Kostas Simitis by the three detachments at the A’ Cemetery, along with the brass band.
The funeral of Kostas Simitis is being held with honors befitting a sitting prime minister. The Greek flag, which was covering the coffin, was removed according to protocol to allow for the burial.
The family members of the former prime minister, President of the Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou, PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis, PASOK officials, and a large crowd are present at the site.
Applause and sounds from the military band accompany the body of Kostas Simitis to the A’ Cemetery.
Kostas Simitis will be laid to rest next to Andreas Papandreou and near Melina Mercouri, with honors to be rendered by guards from the three branches of the Armed Forces.
The procession passed outside the Parliament, and the |Tomb of the Unknokn Soldier.
Eulogies
Sakellaropoulou: We say goodbye to a major figure of our contemporary history
"Today, we sorrowfully and with honour say farewell to a major figure of our contemporary history," stated President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou on Thursday, during her eulogy at the funeral of former prime minister Costas Simitis at the Athens Metropolitan Cathedral.
Sakellaropolou underlined that "Costas Simitis defended democracy and its principles steadfastly and with conviction, passion and reason, through words and deeds, throughout his life. He fought against the dictatorship, he was a distinguished academic and teacher, a man of ideas and practical reasoning, who left his deep mark on the post dictatorship era with his own distinct and timeless political example."
Speaking about his work, she noted that "with European social democracy and the reformist wave as his guiding principles, Costas Simitis introduced into our political consciousness and culture a new method and perception of governance. He focused on rationality, planning, commitment to high goals and the ethics of duty, on low-profile, daily and systematic work. He steered clear of popular but cheap rhetoric and easy populism, with a moderate and measured speech and a democratic ethos".
Mitsotakis: An opponent of the dictatorship and a steadfast advocate of democracy
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis described Simitis as "an opponent of the dictatorship and a steadfast advocate of democracy," while delivering his funeral address on Thursday.
Mitsotakis spoke of a "noble adversary," and that his own institutional position demanded that Simitis be honored as he deserves, adding: "Our parties succeeded in coming together at two critical milestones: Greece’s accession to the euro and Cyprus’ entry into the EU."
The prime minister stated that Costas Simitis now belongs to history and referred to three legacies of the deceased that are already visible:
The first was "his unwavering faith in the European orientation and his constant effort to bring Greece closer to the most developed states of Europe."
The second was his way of governing and the methodical recording of the priorities that had to be turned into action, based on planning, careful work and control, aiming for measurable results. The third legacy, according to the prime minister, was that in addition to his involvement in politics, he always found time to read, to listen to music, to go to the theatre, and that he loved the role of a simple husband and father.
Greece honours the prime minister who 'made a strong Greece within Europe reality'
Greece honours the prime minister who "made a strong Greece within Europe reality and left an indelible mark on the post-junta history of the country," main opposition PASOK-KINAL leader Nikos Androulakis said on Thursday in his eulogy for Costas Simitis.
"The country’s political world is diminished, as it has lost a great personality of international stature, who creatively and with sound arguments enriched the public debate," Androulakis said, delivering his eulogy at the funeral of the former prime minister at the Athens Metropolitan Cathedral.
"Simitis had identified early on the historical roots of the state's maladies and had shaped the political vision for overcoming them," he added.
Listing the former premier's accomplishments, Androulakis noted that the Simitis had succeeded in turning Greece into a country with national self-confidence, social justice and extroversion, adding that Simitis "strove for these values and rallied a large social majority around the political vision of reform... while giving it a clearly progressive content, as his works attest, long before the words lost their real meaning."
"Costas Simitis helped to shape history and was an equal interlocutor of the world's most powerful leaders, someone who always knew how to win with his credibility and realism," Androulakis emphasised.
