Vasso Papandreou, champion of women in Greek politics, dies at 79

Vasso Papandreou, a trailblazing Greek politician who served as a government minister, European commissioner and leading advocate for women’s representation in politics, has died at her home in an Athens suburb. She was 79. No cause of death was given, but she had been in poor health for several years. Her Saturday funeral, near her birthplace in southern Greece, was attended by the former Socialist prime minister Costas Simitis and other veteran politicians. She served in the Greek Parliament from 1993 to 2012. In 1994, she was one of a group of four lawmakers pushing for the ailing socialist party founder, Andreas Papandreou (no relation), to retire.