Nikos Tagaras, Greece's Deputy Minister of Environment and Energy, died Saturday at the Athens Medical Center following a battle with cancer. He was 70.
His son, Christos Tagaras, confirmed the death in a social media post. "Have a good journey into the light, my father. You were and always will be my forever superhero," Mr. Tagaras wrote.
A New Democracy member of parliament representing Corinthia, Nikos Tagaras was appointed Deputy Minister of Environment and Energy by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in August 2020 — his second time at the ministry, having previously served as alternate environment minister under Prime Minister Antonis Samaras in 2014.
Born in Chiliomodi, Corinthia in 1956, Mr. Tagaras graduated as a civil engineer from the National Technical University of Athens and served in the Hellenic Air Force as a reserve second lieutenant overseeing military infrastructure projects.
His public career spanned four decades of local and national governance: community president of Chiliomodi from 1987 to 1994, mayor of Tenea from 1999 to 2002, prefect of Corinthia for two terms between 2003 and 2010, and member of the Hellenic Parliament from 2012.
His death comes as Greece is finalizing its most ambitious wildfire prevention season on record — an area of policy that fell within his ministerial remit.