A founding Leadership Board member of the Mayors Migration Council, Georgios Kaminis served two terms as Mayor of Athens between 2011 and 2019. In light of Mr. Kaminis response to the 2015 refugee crisis, he was awarded the “World Mayor” Commendation for services to refugees in 2016.

Currently, Mr. Kaminis serves as a Member of the Greek Parliament, heading the national list of “Movement of Change” (Kinima Allagis), a social-democratic party in Greece. He sits in the Standing Committee on Public Administration, Public Order and Justice of the Hellenic Parliament, shadowing, on behalf of “Kinima Allagis”, the work of the Ministry of Citizens’ Protection, the Ministry responsible for migration and refugee affairs. He is an Assistant Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Athens, Faculty of Law and a member of the Department of Parliamentary Studies and Research of the Greek Parliament.

Prior to his election as Mayor of Athens, Mr. Kaminis served as Deputy Ombudsman for Human Rights from 1998 to May 2003. In 2003, he was unanimously elected Greek Ombudsman by the Greek Parliament, and re-elected for a second term in 2007. He studied law at the University of Athens and holds a doctoral degree (Doctorat d’Etat) from the University of Paris I. Born in New York City, has also lived in Osaka, Paris, Madrid, and Heidelberg. In addition to his native Greek, he speaks fluent English, French, and Spanish. Mr. Kaminis is married and has two children.