Administrative Reform Secretary General Dimitris Stefanou died on Tuesday after a serious illness at the age of 46.

Prime Minister expressed his condolences by saying that “He was an esteemed colleague who had still much to offer, but today he lost the fight against the serious illness he was dealing with,”.

“He served from many and critical posts in public administration with passion and unblemished ethos.” Mr. Samaras added.

PASOK President Evangelos Venizelos expressed his deep sorrow for the death of Mr. Stefanou and said that he was “an esteemed official at PASOK” and “served loyally” in the ministry from 2009.

Mr. Venizelos added that “I had known him since his college years… He was reliable, hard-working, tireless and courageous”.

Administrative Reform Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that “the reform in public administration bears his indelible signature… His fighting spirit and courage were for those who knew him a source of inspiration and admiration. The country lost a person who still had a lot to offer. I did not just lose my closest colleague, but a very good friend as well.”

Deputy Administrative Reform Minister Evi Christofilopoulou said “he knew how to inspire, lead and succeed. Today we say goodbye to a good friend and an esteemed colleague”.

Stefanou was born in Athens in 1968, trained as a lawyer and worked as head lecturer at the University of Hagen’s Institute for German and European Right of Political Parties. He worked under the administrations of premier Costas Simitis and Foreign minister George Papandreou and was active in negotiations to resolve the Cyprus issue and to help in the island republic’s accession talks to the EU.