Nikos Papathanasis presently holds the office of the Alternate Minister at the Ministry of Economy and Finance and he was also elected, at the 2023 elections, as a member of the Parliament in the district of Athens North.
From August 2020 until May 2023, he held the office of Alternate Minister at the Ministry of Development and Investment with the responsibility of the portfolio of private and strategic investments, PPP’s and the Just Transition Fund. Also, from July 2019 until August 2020 he held the office of the Deputy Minister at the same ministry with the responsibility of the portfolio of Industry, Commerce and Consumer’s Protection.
During his thirty-five-year career, he served as a C-level executive for large corporations with a successful track record in developing business plans, reorganizing and streamlining operations that led to significant positive economic outcomes.
He received his B.A.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering and his M.A.Sc. in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Toronto, followed by a Masters in Management Science at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.
He commenced his career at the DeHavilland Aircraft Company (Bombardier Aerospace) in Toronto while later he served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Hellenic Aerospace Industry (HAI) and executive Vice President of Olympic Aviation, a regional airline company. During his professional years, he worked mainly in the private sector while he reached high executive and C level managerial positions in companies in Greece and abroad.
He managed companies in the fields of construction, real estate development to public transportation as he served as CEO in the Athens Line 1 metro rail system and subsequently Chairman and CEO in the Athens Metro and Light railsystem for a total of eight years. From 2008 to 2010 he served as a President-elect of the Greek branch of the European Centre of Employers and Enterprises providing Public Services (CEEP) which is a General Cross Industry social partner recognized by the EU Commission. From 2017 holds the Chair of the President of the Institute of Democracy “Konstantinos Karamanlis”, a scientific non-profit organization. He served from 2016 until the national elections of 2019 as Director General of the presently governing political Party of “Nea Democratia”.