Anna Psarouda–Benaki, the first woman Speaker of Parliament, has died

Anna Psarouda–Benaki was the first woman Speaker of Parliament and the first woman to serve as President of the Academy of Athens.

She was also Professor Emerita of Criminal Law at the Law School of Athens.

Who was Anna Psarouda–Benaki

She was born in Athens. She was the daughter of Admiral Evangelos Psaroudas and the wife of historian of philosophy Linos G. Benakis.

She attended the American College of Greece (Pierce College for Girls) and studied at the Law School of the University of Athens, from which she received her Law Degree (1957). She pursued postgraduate studies at the Universities of Bonn and Cologne and obtained her doctorate in Criminal Law (1961) from the University of Bonn. For extended periods, she conducted research at the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law in Freiburg, Germany, where she became an associate. The result of this research was her habilitation thesis (1971) and her other scholarly works.

She progressed through the entire academic hierarchy at the Law School of Athens (Assistant, Lecturer, Associate Professor, Professor, 1962–2001) and taught Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure. Under her supervision in Greece and Germany, many young scholars—now university professors—completed their doctoral dissertations.

She entered politics in 1981 as a State Deputy with New Democracy and remained a Member of Parliament for Athens A’ for 28 years, being continuously elected until September 2009. She served as Alternate Minister of Education (1989), Minister of Culture (1990–92), Minister of Justice (1992–93), and Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament (2004–2007). She was rapporteur on significant legislative bills and actively participated in constitutional revisions. As Speaker, she promoted parliamentary diplomacy, paying official visits to the parliaments of European Union countries, Asia (Jordan, China, Japan), Africa (Egypt, Tunisia), and South America (Chile), particularly in relation to the Greek diaspora, and reciprocated with corresponding invitations to Greece.

She collaborated with international organizations, represented the Hellenic Parliament during the drafting of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and participated in the work of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Since 1976, she directed the journal “Poinika Chronika” the oldest and most authoritative journal serving criminal sciences and judicial practice in Greece, contributing herself with articles and commentary on criminal theory and practice.

She practiced law in Athens in criminal cases from 1962 to 2008.

She authored numerous books, articles, and other works on Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure, as well as political texts.

On April 29, 2010, she was elected a full member of the Academy of Athens in the Chair of Criminal Law.

She spoke and wrote German, English, and French.