Background
Nikos Dendias was born in Corfu in 1959, but his family hails from the island group of Paxoi.
Nikos Dendias was born in Corfu in 1959, but his family hails from the island group of Paxoi.
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. London School of Economics.
He went to school in the Athens College, received a degree in law from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, a Master of Laws in Maritime and Insurance Law from the University of London and in Criminology from the London School of Economics. He was elected as an Member of Parliament for Corfu in the Greek parliament in the 2004, 2007, 2009 and June 2012 elections. On 8 January 2009, he was named as Minister for Justice in the second cabinet of Kostas Karamanlis, serving until the cabinet"s resignation on 7 October 2009, following North Dakota"s defeat in the elections of 4 October.
In the coalition cabinet of Antonis Samaras, formed after the June 2012 elections, he has held the posts of Minister for Public Order and Citizen Protection (21 June 2012 – 10 June 2014), Minister for Development and Competitiveness (10 June – 3 November 2014) and, from 3 November 2014 to 27 January 2015, Minister for National Defence.
A practising lawyer, he has been active in New Democracy since 1978, first as a member of North Dakota"s student wing, Directory of American Philosophers-NDFK and later as a party functionary in the Youth Organisation of New Democracy.
He is a Member of the Hellenic Parliament for Corfu, and was Minister for National Defence from November 2014 to January 2015.