MONTREAL – Dimitris Azemopoulos, the former Consul General of Greece in Toronto, will be the next Ambassador of Greece to Canada. On July 24, the Canadian government announced its official assent to the 58-year-old Azemopoulos’ accreditation, and in the fall, the new Ambassador will assume his duties.
Azemopoulos posted on his personal Facebook page, “Α day of joy and satisfaction comes to its end. Ottawa has officially granted its agreement to my appointment as Ambassador of Greece to Canada. And this was done a lot earlier than anyone could have ever expected. Grateful to those who believe in me both here and in Canada,” wrote Azemopoulos.
TNH contacted Azemopoulos shortly after the announcement. “After August,” was his reply to our question about when he will take over as Ambassador. He succeeds George Marcantonatos in the Greek Embassy in Ottawa, whose done an extremely successful job with significant interventions in the promotion of Greek interests and with continued presence and support for the Greeks of Canada.
Azemopoulos is well-known to Greek-Canadians since he served as Consul General in Toronto, from February 2009 until the end of July 2014. During his term of office, he was a leader in a series of humanitarian activities and the promotion of the values of democracy, human rights, and social justice, leading to an award from the Canadian National Ethnic Press and Media Council.
He was also honored by dozens of Greek-Canadian associations and is still an honorary president of some of those organizations. In 2011, he was awarded the AHEPA CEGA Prize for the Promotion of Hellenism. He has linked his name with the support of the Sickkids Hospital in Toronto and the organization of three Toronto Waterfront marathons, showing Greece in a positive light.
Azemopoulos studied law, political science and international and European studies at the University of Athens, with postgraduate courses at the LSE in London, at the Sorbonne University in Paris and in Athens. He is a graduate of the National School of Public Administration and was appointed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1992. He was immediately invited to serve in the diplomatic offices of the Minister of Foreign Affairs (1992-1993) and the President of the Republic (1993-1995).
He has also served in Poland, Norway, the Council of the European Union, at the offices of two EU Commissioners, and in key positions of the Foreign Ministry. He was promoted to the rank of Ambassador in February 2016. Today, he is the head of ministry staff and last March was selected by the Supreme Administrative Board for the post of ambassador to Canada.
He has been honored with the Eagle of the Republic of Poland and the Cross of the Commander of the Italian Republic. He is also a PhD candidate for international and European studies at the University of Piraeus and speaks seven languages.
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