"Good afternoon everyone.
Let me first of all address and welcome the new Minister.
Dear Anna, Minister of Justice and Public Order.
I warmly congratulate you on your appointment as Minister of Justice and Public Order and wish you every success in the difficult task you are undertaking. I am handing over to you a Ministry with many different responsibilities, but all of them equally important and demanding. Justice, Human Rights, Police, Fire Service, Prisons and State Archives
A Ministry in which, may I say, remarkable infrastructure work has been produced during my short and interesting career, which began in this room in July 2021.
Characteristically, the much-needed reform of the judiciary to make it faster and more efficient has begun to be implemented, with the passage of five historic bills. Important projects that complement and support it have been completed. With some in progress, in order for the reform to reach the citizen and thus fulfil its basic mission: to feel that the rule of law has been strengthened and that their daily lives are being improved in a tangible way.
At the same time, the Ministry of Justice is, by its very nature, faced with many challenges, which makes the responsibility you are assuming significant and multidimensional.
However, I can assure you that it has the human resources to cope with every difficulty. It is staffed by highly qualified and competent officials, who I am sure will stand by you with dedication and professionalism.
Officials with whom I have had the pleasure of working closely and to whom I owe a great deal. Before I hand over the baton to you, please allow me to say a few words to thank them from the bottom of my heart for the time and effort they have devoted to working with me.
For their commitment and contribution to the achievement of the objectives I set 20 months ago and which allow me today, on completion, to leave satisfied with the result we have achieved together.
To the Director General, Dr. Louis Panayi, the driving force of the Ministry of Justice and Public Order. Dear Louis, thank you for the unconditional and catalytic support you have given me during my 20 months in office.
The Chief and the leadership of the Police, the directorates of all the departments of the Ministry, Fire Brigade, Prisons and State Archives, all the officials who are here and those who are working in their offices today, I thank them all from the bottom of my heart and I wish them all the best. With the same zeal and professionalism that characterizes them, may they continue to work for the good of the Ministry and the citizen.
Warm thanks to my two private secretaries, Niki Themistocleous and Sophia Michael, as well as to the officer and the police officers of my escort, my dear Kyriakos, Stefanos and Andreas.
Finally, to two people, precious friends, tireless advisors and my close collaborators, Konstantinos Giorkas and Maria Tziamalis, from the bottom of my heart, a very big, huge thank you.
With this valuable human resource of the Ministry at your side, Madam Minister, and the escorts and special partners you will choose, I hand over the baton to you and wish you every success in your new duties.
Of course, I remain at your disposal for any issue of the Ministry that you need information and clarification.
I wish you good work, patience, strength and every success in what you are undertaking today.
Before I close, I owe a big thank you to President Anastasiades for the honour and opportunity he has given me to serve as Minister of Justice and Public Order."
(ΕΠ/ΣΧ)
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