Quick Facts
Biography
Gikas Hardouvelis (Greek: Γκίκας Χαρδούβελης [ˈɟikas xaɾˈðuvelis]; born 8 October 1955) is a former Minister of Finance of Greece. He replaced Yannis Stournaras on 10 June 2014 following a cabinet reshuffle.
Career
Hardouvelis is a Professor of Finance & Economics, Department of Banking and Financial Management at the University of Piraeus and Chief Economist & Director of Research, EUROBANK Group. He held position of the Director of the Economic Office of Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos (Nov. 2011 – May 2012), assisting the government during talks with bondholders about a writedown of debt and with the International Monetary Fund, European Commission and the European Central Bank on Greece’s second adjustment program. During 2000–2004, he was Director of the Economic Office of Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis.
He holds a Ph.D. in Economics (1983, U.C. Berkeley), and M.Sc. & B.A. in Applied Mathematics (1978, Harvard University). He was Assistant Professor at Barnard College, Columbia University (1983–1989), Associate Professor and subsequently Full Professor at Rutgers University (1989–1993).
He served as a Research Adviser & Economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (1987–1993) and as an Adviser of the Bank of Greece for the next two years (1994–1995), where he also acted as Second Alternate to the Governor at the European Monetary Institute (precursor to the European Central Bank). Between1996-2000 he held the post of Chief Economist at the National Bank of Greece, where he restructured the Economic Analysis Division, created the Risk Management Division, the Assets-Liabilities Management Department, and the Investors Relations Department. He also played a critical role in the establishment of the Athens Derivatives Exchange, as an original member of its Board of Directors (1997–2000). In the subsequent years he joined Eurobank as its chief economist.
Academic work
His academic work extends in Finance and Macroeconomics and is published in many internationally renowned journals, including The American Economic Review, The Journal of Finance, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, the Journal of Monetary Economics and others.
He was among the top-50 individual publishers worldwide in applied econometrics over 1989 to 1995.
His work on margin requirements had a crucial impact on shaping the reform of the legal framework governing the markets of futures on stock indices in the US.