Last week marked the fifth anniversary of the death of my grandfather and namesake, Dimitrios Halikias. He was pre-deceased by my grandmother, Amalia Halikias, by two weeks. Below is a translation of the eulogy that was delivered at my grandfather's funeral by Lucas Papademos, who briefly served as the Prime Minister of Greece from 2011 to 2012.
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Dimitrios Halikias was a unique personality of economic science and policy, who offered multiple, valuable services to the Bank of Greece and to Greece.
He was born in the village of Apidia in Laconia in 1925. Even as a young boy he stood out for his work ethic and studiousness, which characterized his later career. He was a self-made scholar, civil servant, and central banker, who occupied the highest positions in the public sector and the Bank of Greece, and he contributed substantively to the development of economic policy and the implementation of monetary policy during critical periods for the Greek economy.
He did his university studies at the School of Economic and Commercial Sciences (ASOEE, today the Athens Economic University), and his graduate studies at Cambridge University in England, in the field of economic development.
During his long professional career, he served in numerous public positions, especially related to monetary policy and the banking system. He served as Director, Chief Economist, and Secretary General of the Ministry of Coordination (today the Ministry of Economy). In 1957, at the invitation of Xenophon Zolotas, he moved to the Bank of Greece and served in the Bank’s Economic Research Department. After the restoration of democracy in 1974, he assumed the position of Chief Economist at the Bank of Greece and remained in this position until he was appointed Deputy Governor in 1981. He served as Governor of the Bank of Greece for eight years, from 1984 to 1992.
During his tenure, he implemented a substantive liberalization of the Greek banking system, which contributed to its more effective functioning in providing support to the Greek economy. Dimitrios Halikias played a decisive role in the design and implementation of an appropriate monetary policy – or optimal monetary policy as he himself characterized it – for the stabilization of the economy during difficult periods of high inflation, on the order of 20 percent, and large budget deficits.
I had the good fortune and privilege to work with him when he was Governor of the Bank of Greece, and I occupied, during this period, the position of Chief Economist of the Bank. I admired his deep knowledge of the Greek economy and the monetary and credit system, his organizational and management skills, his decisiveness in designing and implementing the optimal monetary policy without being influenced by political pressures, his good judgment, his kindness, and his integrity of character; and, in parallel with the exercise of his duties as Governor, his ability to advise the government on monetary policy issues and in finding the time to author scholarly studies on the Greek and European economy.
And indeed, he has authored numerous and important studies, both during his tenure at the Bank of Greece and later as visiting fellow at Oxford University: studies on the problems but also the prospects of the Greek economy, on issues of monetary policy and banking supervision, as well as on the country’s transition toward the European Monetary Union.
Personally, and also on behalf of the Bank of Greece colleagues, I want to express our respect, affection, and gratitude for what he offered to the Bank and to Greece. Our dear Dimitri, you will remain immortal in our memory.
Lucas Papademos
Delivered on February 28, 2020
