Decentralized Administration of Attica

Decentralized Administration
of Attica
Αποκεντρωμένη Διοίκηση Αττικής
Agency overview
Formed1 January 2011 (2011-01-01)
JurisdictionGovernment of Greece
HeadquartersAthens, Attica
Employees698
Agency executive
  • Acting Secretary-General
Websitewww.apdattikis.gov.gr
Map
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Location of Attica in Greece
Area served
Supervised regionAttica
Regional units8
Municipalities66
Area3,808 km2 (1,470 sq mi)[1]
Population3,828,434 (as of 2011)[2]

The Decentralized Administration of Attica (Greek: Αποκεντρωμένη Διοίκηση Αττικής) is one of the seven decentralized administrations of Greece, solely consisting of the region of Attica. Its seat is Athens.

Formation and tasks

Main article: Decentralized administrations of Greece

Decentralized Administrations were created in January 2011 as part of a far-reaching reform of the country's administrative structure, the Kallikratis reform (Law 3852/2010).[3]

They enjoy both administrative and financial autonomy[1] and exercise devolved state powers in urban planning, environmental and energy policy, forestry, migration and citizenship.[4] Beyond that, they are tasked with supervising the first and second-level self-governing bodies: the municipalities and regions, in this case the 66 municipalities of Attica and the region itself.

Characteristics

Covering an area of 3,808 km2 (1,470 sq mi),[1] Attica is by far the smallest, but with an overall population of 3,828,434[2] also by far the most populated of the seven decentralized administrations.

In the European NUTS nomenclature, Attica forms the first level NUTS region EL3 (Attiki).

General Secretary

The Decentralized Administration is led by a Secretary-General (Γενικός Γραμματέας) who is appointed or dismissed by a Cabinet decision upon request of the Greek Minister of Interior,[5] and is therefore considered the senior representative of the national government in the regions.

In January 2014, Manolis Angelakas (Nea Dimokratia), who previously had been responsible for Peloponnese, Western Greece and the Ionian, was appointed Secretary-General.[6] Following the electoral victory of Syriza in January 2015, the new Minister for the Interior, Nikos Voutsis, declared that the decentralized administrations would be abolished, and their powers transferred to the regions. Until this reform is formalized, and as the Secretaries-General appointed by the previous administration resigned on 2 February, the decentralized administrations are run by their senior civil servants as Acting Secretaries-General.[7][8]

List of secretaries-general

References

  1. ^ a b c Ministry of Interior 2013, p. 12
  2. ^ a b "Demographic and social characteristics of the Resident Population of Greece according to the 2011 Population - Housing Census revision of 20/3/2014" (PDF). Hellenic Statistical Authority. 12 September 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-08.
  3. ^ Ministry of Interior 2013, p. 10 f..
  4. ^ Ministry of Interior 2013, p. 27.
  5. ^ Ministry of Interior 2013, p. 19.
  6. ^ Γενικός Γραμματέας Αποκεντρωμένης Διοίκησης [General Secretary of the Decentralized Administration]. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  7. ^ Tania Georgiopoulou (5 February 2015). Κατάργηση Αποκεντρωμένων Διοικήσεων (in Greek). Kathimerini. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  8. ^ Ο Βούτσης «καταργεί» τις Αποκεντρωμένες Διοικήσεις – Κίνηση-ματ υπέρ των αιρετών Περιφερειών (in Greek). aftodioikisi.gr. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2015.

Literature