Yannis Stournaras

Yannis Stournaras
Yannis Stournaras in 2014
Some attributes
First	Name: Yannis Stournaras
Second	Position: Minister of Finance (Since 5 July 2012)
Third	Nationality: Greek
Other attributes
Fourth	Allegiance: Greece
Fifth	Born: 10 December 1956, Athens
Sixth	Alma mater: University of Athens University of Oxford

Yannis (or Giannis) Stournaras (Greek: Γιάννης Στουρνάρας, born in Athens, Greece on 10 December 1956), is a Greek economist who has been the Greek Minister of Finance since July 5, 2012 and is on the Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund.

Stournaras is a graduate of the Finance Faculty of the University of Athens, and has an MSc and PhD in Economic Theory and Policy from Oxford University. Since 1989 he has taught Macroeconomics and Economic Policy at the University of Athens, and has worked as a financial advisor to the Greek Ministry of Finance, participating in the negotiations for Greece's entry into the European Monetary Union.

Greece ended in 2014 its exile from the global capital markets by selling long term bonds for the first time in four years, signalling that the worst days of the country’s crisis are behind it.

The country issued €3bn (£2.5bn) of five-year bonds yesterday, in a sale that was massively oversubscribed. The interest rate on the bonds, at 4.75pc, was lower than had been expected by the government, which originally priced them at 5pc-5.25pc.

Greece’s debt sale comes despite the country still being mired in deflation, mass unemployment and economic stagnation, although there have been tentative signs of improvement. Official figures released on Thursday showed that unemployment in January had fallen from 27.2pc in December to 26.7pc – still twice the Eurozone average – and the country’s government expects growth of 0.6pc this year after six years of contraction.