Speaker

Apostolos Tzitzikostas was born on September 2, 1978. He is a graduate of Athens College. He obtained a BA in Political Science and International Politics from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. and a Master's degree in European Public Policy from the University College of London. In 2002, he established his own company in Thessaloniki in the production and processing of dairy products based on organic standards. In the national elections of September 2007, he was elected Member of the Greek Parliament with the Nea Demokratia party in the 1st Electoral District of Thessaloniki. As MP, he served as Secretary of the Hellenic Parliament, member of the Standing Committee on National Defense and Foreign Affairs, and member of the Standing Committee on Financial Affairs. Additionally, he was a member of the Special Standing Committee on European Community Affairs and the Special Committee for the Reform Treaty of the European Union. He represented the Hellenic Parliament in the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly from 2007 to 2009. In the regional elections of November 2010, he was elected Deputy Governor of Central Macedonia and Head of the Thessaloniki Regional Unit. In the regional elections of May 2014, he was elected Governor of Central Macedonia with 71% of the vote. He was re-elected as Governor of Central Macedonia in the regional elections of May 2019 and October 2023, receiving over 60% of the vote in both elections. In November 2019, he was elected President of the Association of Greek Regions and was unanimously re-elected President in February 2024, for the first time in the institution's history. Since 2015, he has been a member of the European Committee of the Regions, and in July 2017, he was elected Head of the Greek Delegation. In February 2020, he was unanimously elected by all political groups President of the European Committee of the Regions. In July 2022, he was also unanimously elected First Vice-President of the European Committee of the Regions. He speaks English and French, and his articles are frequently published in newspapers and magazines in Greece and abroad. He is married to Eleana Vlachou and has two children, George and Natalia.