The collection has been compiled from the personal libraries of Spyridon, Georgios, and Konstantinos Simitis, and consists of approximately 1,300 items. It was donated to the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation by Konstantinos Simitis in 2017. The collection primarily covers topics in general and political history, with a focus on law and legislation, civil law, civil procedure, constitutional law, commercial law, trademarks, and unfair competition. It also includes materials related to philosophy and the humanities, as well as some items concerning the social sciences and modern Greek literature. Many of the books in the collection bear dedications from the authors. The languages of the publications mainly include German, French, Greek, and Italian.
The library of former Greek Prime Minister Konstantinos Simitis and lawyer Georgios Simitis
Content
Number of items: 1.317
Biography
Konstantinos G. Simitis (born 1936) is a university professor and politician, and a former Prime Minister of Greece. He studied law and economics in Germany and England. He taught as an associate professor at the University of Konstanz in 1971 and as a professor at the University of Giessen from 1971 to 1975. In 1977, he was appointed Professor of Commercial Law at Panteion University. In 1965, he played a leading role in the founding of the “Alexandros Papanastasiou” group. During the dictatorship, he fled illegally abroad and, from 1970, participated in the Panhellenic Liberation Movement (PAK) as a member of its National Council. He was a founding member of PASOK and served on the party’s first Executive Committee. He held the positions of Minister of Agriculture (1981-1985), Minister of National Economy (1985-1987), and Minister of Industry and Trade (1993-1995). In 1985, he was elected for the first time as a Member of Parliament for Piraeus, and he has been re-elected continuously since then. On January 18, 1996, he was elected Prime Minister, and on June 30, 1996, he became the President of PASOK, holding both positions until the elections of March 7, 2004, and the PASOK conference on February 8, 2004, respectively.
Georgios Simitis (1899-1976) was a lawyer and politician. The son of Spyridon Simitis, he studied law at the University of Athens, where he also earned his doctorate in 1928 under the supervision of Professor Thrasyvoulos Petimezas. In 1936, he was elected associate professor of commercial law at the Athens Law School, a position he held until 1940. From 1940 to 1946, he served as a professor of commercial law at the Athens University of Economics and Business (ASOEE). He was dismissed from ASOEE in 1946 due to his political beliefs when the government at the time purged universities of left-wing professors. He participated in the Mountain Government as a representative of Piraeus in the National Assembly at Koryschades and served as General Administrator of Roumeli. He was the president of the Piraeus Bar Association (1932-1941), legal advisor to the Commercial Bank and the Piraeus Chamber of Commerce. He has also written many works.
Spyridon Simitis (1860-1914) was a lawyer. He studied law at the University of Athens, where he also earned his doctorate in 1881. In 1890, he was elected associate professor of commercial law, a position he held until 1898. He was a member of the first governing board of the Athens Bar Association. He had a prolific writing career, with notable works including “Commercial Law: On Bills of Exchange (1899-1900)” and “System of Commercial Law (Piraeus: Sphaira 1884-1887),” which was the first extensive treatise on commercial law in Greece.