Public Policy 85: First Full Day in Greece

Our day started off with a protest. We could hear it as we made our way toward our first appointment of the day, a tour of the Museum of the Bank of Greece with Dr. Yorgo Seferlis. As we got closer it was clear that the protest was, in fact, right outside of the Museum of the Bank of Greece. We later learned that they were protesting recent staffing changes at one of the nation's largest private bank, Piraeus Bank, rather than Greek public financial institutions. 

After our tour, we met with Professor Dimitros Malliaropoulos, Chief Economist and Director of the Economic Research & Analysis Department of the Bank of Greece, Greece’s central bank. We then walked a few blocks to the National Bank of Greece, one of four Greek private banks, for a meeting with the former Greek Minister of Finance (2014-2015), Professor Gikas Hardouvelis. Next on the agenda was a tour of the Hellenic Parliament, located in an ornate building that formerly housed the royal palace. 

The late afternoon was ours to fill as we pleased. Some explored Athens, many took a nap — we are all pretty jet-lagged. 

We ended the day with a group dinner, spent discussing Greek affairs with Paula Miller ’85. We were also celebrating a birthday! The group loudly serenaded Alex with “Happy Birthday,” definitively revealing ourselves as tourists, for any fellow patrons who were previously unaware.