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// Workers AI · dad joke modeIs Rena Dourou a good runner? She's got a lot of pace to dourou.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rena Dourou
Ρένα Δούρου
Rena Dourou in 2015
Regional Governor of Attica
In office
2014–2019
Preceded byGiannis Sgouros
Succeeded byGiorgios Patoulis
Personal details
Born1974 (age 51–52)
Aigaleo, West Athens, Greece
PartyCoalition of the Radical Left (Syriza)
Domestic partner
Giannis Benisis
Alma materNational and Kapodistrian University of Athens,
University of Essex
ProfessionPolitical scientist
Websitewww.renadourou.gr

Irene "Rena" Dourou (Greek: Ειρήνη "Ρένα" Δούρου; born 1974) is a Greek political scientist and politician of the Coalition of the Radical Left (Syriza). From 2014 to 2019, she served as the Regional Governor of Attica. She lost re-election to New Democracy Candidate Giorgios Patoulis on 7 July 2019.

Early life and education

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Born 1974 in Aigaleo to a police officer and a stay-at-home mother,[1] she was raised in the Western Athens suburb of Aigaleo.[2] Active in the anti-globalization movement, she helped found Synaspismos Youth in 1995.[2]

Dourou became a teacher at Athens University.[3] Following her graduation, she was rewarded a scholarship to the University of Essex in the United Kingdom, where she enrolled in political science and earned a master's degree. Though Dourou was encouraged to pursue a Ph.D., she decided to return to Greece,[1] where in 2004 she joined the newly founded left-wing Syriza party.[4]

Political career

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In the two consecutive legislative elections of May and June 2012, she was elected a member of the Hellenic Parliament for the suburban Athens B constituency.[5]

In a television appearance on 7 June 2012, far-right Golden Dawn party's MP Ilias Kasidiaris threw a glass of water at Dourou, at which point Liana Kanelli slapped Kasidiaris with pieces of paper in front of her, followed by Kasodsiaris slapping Kanelli repeatedly in the face. The incident caused an uproar, both nationally and internationally.[4]

Following the elections, Dourou was appointed to the Shadow Cabinet of Alexis Tsipras, where she was made responsible for foreign policy.[6] Dourou also organized events and delivered speeches in collaboration with Greek Jewish organizations to commemorate the Holocaust. In 2019, she authored the book "Five Speeches on the Holocaust of Greek Jews".[7]

Governor of Attica

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Rena Dourou with Alexis Tsipras 25 May 2015

On 26 March 2014, well ahead of the local elections in May, she ceded her parliamentary seat[5] to her party's first runner-up Eleni Avlonitou, in order to fully concentrate on campaigning for regional governor of Attica. For her all-in decision, she gained further respect, being referred to as the first member of parliament to do so.[8]

Running a door-to-door campaign on an electoral platform called "Power of Life" (Greek: Δύναμη Ζωής), she challenged incumbent Giannis Sgouros, who ran for the social-liberal "Social Values" party, and won the first round. Though in the decisive runoff ballot, Sgouros had the backing of both the New Democracy and PASOK parties, Dourou won with 50.83% of the popular vote.[9] Ahead of Syriza's victory at the January 2015 legislative election, her election as regional governor was widely described as Syriza's biggest victory so far.[1]

In charge of a €575 million annual budget, she immediately increased social welfare spending from €1.9 million to €13.5 million in order to establish food banks, health care for the uninsured. She also ordered tens of thousands disconnected from electricity to be reconnected.[2] She was criticized by Minister of Administrative Reform Kyriakos Mitsotakis for supporting 19 mayors who refused to hand over municipal workers' files for evaluation.[10]

Controversies

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Mati Wildfire court case

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For the Mati Wildfire, which occurred during her Governorship of Attica, the Athens Prosecutor's Office prosecuted Dourou for three misdemeanors, these being arson by negligence, serial homicide by negligence, and serial bodily harm.[11] The Board of Appeals referred her to trial for the misdemeanor offenses of serial homicide by negligence by omission by both liable and non-liable parties, as well as of serial bodily harm.[12] Dourou was referred to the Disciplinary Council of the Prelates, which unanimously acquitted her, considering that there was no breach of duty.[13] The Athens Court of Criminal Appeals, with the consent of the prosecution, unanimously acquitted her of all charges.[14] The Athens Prosecutor's Office appealed the decision, resulting in the case being retried. On 3 June 2025, the Athens Court of Criminal Appeals unanimously acquitted Dourou of all charges for the second time.[15][16][17]

Mandra Flood court case

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In 2022, the Athens Prosecutor's Office filed criminal charges against Dourou for negligence, manslaughter by serial negligence, bodily harm, and violation of building regulations regarding the November 2017 floods in Mandra.[18][19][20] The Athens Misdemeanor Court acquitted her unanimously on the charge of breach of duty, and by a majority acquitted her on the charges of flooding by omission, and homicide and bodily harm by negligence.[21] The prosecutor appealed against the acquittal, but it was rejected by the Athens Misdemeanor Court of Appeal.[22]

Other controversies

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Dourou was heavily criticised for her decision to scrap four tenders for waste management plants. It was estimated that her decision lost 200 million euros of funding, with ecological implications and a lack of capacity in the Attica waste management system. Deputy Development Minister Notis Mitarakis called on Dourou to "realize the difference between governing and protesting." He also argued that the Attica governor could not cancel the tenders on her own.[23]

Dourou is in favour of the separation of church and state and took a non-religious oath when she was sworn in as governor, eliciting criticism from conservative and right-wing milieus.[24]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 Suzanne Daley; Dimitris Bounias (26 September 2014). "A Greek Politician Willing to Face the People". New York Times. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 Smith, Helena (13 January 2015). "Syriza's Rena Dourou: 'The left will bring a breath of fresh air to Greece'". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  3. ↑ Korlira, Athena (26 May 2014). "Rena Dourou: the woman who will "change the life" of Attica Prefecture". Times of Change. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  4. 1 2 Smith, Helena (7 June 2012). "Golden Dawn MP's live TV assault shocks Greece". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  5. 1 2 "Terms of office of Rena Dourou". Hellenic Parliament.
  6. ↑ Δεκαέξι «σκιώδεις υπουργούς» έχρισε ο Τσίπρας [Tsipras appoints 16 shadow ministers]. Ethnos (in Greek). 3 July 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  7. ↑ "Και ο Γιώργος Κιμούλης στην επιτροπή για τη συνταγματική αναθεώρηση". iefimerida.gr (in Greek). 6 October 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
  8. ↑ Tsiliopoulos, Euthimis (18 March 2014). "Rena Dourou cedes seat to Eleni Avlonitou". Times of Change. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  9. ↑ "SYRIZA's Dourou takes Attica as New Democracy dominates other regions". Kathimerini. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  10. ↑ Korlira, Athena (19 September 2014). "No excuse for blocking public sector evaluation". Times of Change. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  11. ↑ Ιωάννα Μάνδρου (5 March 2019). "Ποινικές διώξεις σε 20 άτομα για τη φονική πυρκαγιά στο Μάτι - Ανάμεσά τους Δούρου, Ψινάκης". www.kathimerini.gr. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  12. ↑ "Μάτι: Παραπέμπονται για πλημμελήματα Ρένα Δούρου και 20 ακόμα κατηγορούμενοι". www.lifo.gr. 29 June 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  13. ↑ DNews (1 August 2023). "Πειθαρχική αθώωση της Ρένας Δούρου για την τραγωδία στο Μάτι – Τι λέει η απόφαση". Dikastiko.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  14. ↑ "Νέα και Ειδήσεις από την Ελλάδα και τον Κόσμο | Η ΚΑΘΗΜΕΡΙΝΗ". www.kathimerini.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 26 May 2025.
  15. ↑ DNews (3 June 2025). "Η Δούρου και η αθωωτική απόφαση - Dnews". www.dnews.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 8 June 2025.
  16. ↑ thesspress (3 June 2025). "Μάτι: Ένοχοι οι 10 από 21 κατηγορούμενους – Αθώα η Ρένα Δούρου". ThessPress (in Greek). Retrieved 8 June 2025.
  17. ↑ ertnews.gr, Συντακτική ομάδα (3 June 2025). "Δίκη για Μάτι: Ενοχή για 10 κατηγορούμενους, αθώοι Δούρου και Μπουρνούς - Αντιδράσεις έξω από το Εφετείο". ertnews.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 8 June 2025.
  18. ↑ "Ξεκινά η δίκη για τη φονική πλημμύρα της Μάνδρας το 2017 - Απολογείται η Ρένα Δούρου". iefimerida.gr (in Greek). 14 January 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  19. ↑ "Ποινική δίωξη στη Ρένα Δούρου και για τις φονικές πλημμύρες στη Μάνδρα". tovima.gr. 19 March 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  20. ↑ "Η μεγάλη δίκη ξεκινά: 21 κατηγορούμενοι για 24 νεκρούς". ΤΑ ΝΕΑ (in Greek). 4 January 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  21. ↑ Μάνδρου, Ιωάννα. "Πλημμύρα στη Μάνδρα: Αθώα η Ρένα Δούρου και άλλοι 12 κατηγορούμενοι – Οκτώ κρίθηκαν ένοχοι". www.kathimerini.gr. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  22. ↑ "Αυγή - Η εφημερίδα της αριστεράς στο διαδίκτυο". Αυγή (in Greek). Retrieved 26 May 2025.
  23. ↑ "Attica governor slammed for move to scrap waste plant tenders | eKathimerini.com".
  24. ↑ "ND spokesman slams Attica governor for not attending church service | eKathimerini.com".
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