The role of the government spokesperson in Greece

In today’s media-driven world, governments, like large corporations, must maintain relationships, manage reputations, respond to crises and inform the public about policies – tasks typically handled by the government spokesperson. In this chapter, we focus on the role of the government spokesperson in Greece. We look briefly at its origins and its development in the period from the end of the military junta in 1974 until today. Thereupon, this study combines a descriptive, historiological approach, as complemented by one drawing on empirical data from in-depth interviews with actors who have held senior positions in government communication roles in Greece. The findings indicate that the government spokespersons have been traditionally working closely with the Prime Ministers but have undergone a series of changes, both with respect to their official title and with regard to the responsibilities attached to the role, in the period following the restoration of democracy in Greece. This chapter contributes to existing research on both political public relations and governmental and political communication in Greece and offers insights that can contribute to making comparisons between Greece and the dominant paradigms in other nations with respect to the broader literature in the field of government communication.