// SPEAKERS

H.E. Christos Stylianides

Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy, Hellenic Republic (tbc)

Christos Stylianides has been Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy of the Hellenic Republic since September 13, 2023. On June 25, 2023 he was elected Member of the Greek Parliament with the New Democracy Party.

From September 2021 to May 2023 he served as the first Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection of Greece.

Between 2014 and 2019 he served as European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management. During the same period he was EU Ebola Coordinator after his appointment by the European Council. He is considered the "architect" of rescEU, the bold initiative that upgraded significantly the European civil protection system.

In 2014 Christos Stylianides was also elected Member of the European Parliament (Democratic Rally Party of Cyprus/European People's Party). In two different periods he served as Government Spokesperson of the Republic of Cyprus (2013-2014 and 1998-1999). During the period 2006-2013 he was a Member of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Cyprus (elected in 2006 and 2011 with DISY) with a strong parliamentary record. From 2006 to 2011 he was also a member of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and was elected a Member of its Bureau in 2012.

He has been Visiting Professor at the Department of Health Policy at the London School of Economics (LSE) in Great Britain, Visiting Professor in Practice at the Medical School of the University of Nicosia-Cyprus and at the Ruhr Universität Research School of Germany.

In May 2021, he was appointed EU Special Envoy for Freedom or Religion or Belief (FoRB).

In recognition of his work, Christos Stylianides received important honorary awards from governments and international organizations and institutions. Among other, he received the Golden Decoration of Honour by the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Honorary Award of Civil Protection of the Land of Baden-Wurttemberg (Germany) for his contribution to the upgrading of the European civil protection system. He was also named "Global Champion for Education in Emergencies" by the international organization Education Cannot Wait (ECW) and "Political Champion for Education in Emergencies" by the Malala Foundation. For his humanitarian action and contribution to coexistence and reconciliation he was awarded the "Peace and Reconciliation Prize" of the historic city of Guernica, Spain.