By decision of the Prime Minister, Daphne-Eleni Nikolakou has assumed duties as General Secretary for Strategic Planning at the Ministry of Health, while Spyridon Papageorgiou has been appointed General Secretary for the Protection of Critical Entities at the Ministry of Citizen Protection.
Strengthening Policy Design and Cyber Resilience
The government’s appointments aim to reinforce strategic policy development in the health sector and bolster Greece’s institutional resilience against modern cyber threats. The newly established General Secretariat for the Protection of Critical Entities reflects a growing emphasis on safeguarding essential national infrastructure in an increasingly digital and interconnected threat landscape.
About Daphne-Eleni Nikolakou
Nikolakou is an Athens-based lawyer and graduate of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens’ Law School. She began her legal career in 2013 at the law firm Athanasios Varlamis & Partners, later becoming a partner with expertise primarily in economic crime, as well as commercial, tax, and criminal law matters.
Since 2019, she served in the legal office of then Deputy Minister—and later Alternate Minister—of Development and Investments Nikos Papathanasis. Two years later, she took charge of the entire legal department. She contributed, among other initiatives, to the legislative drafting committee tasked with overhauling the legal framework governing public procurement.
In 2023, she moved to the Ministry of Labour as head of the legal office under Minister Adonis Georgiadis. From January 2024 until her current appointment, she served as Chief Legal Advisor to the Minister of Health, coordinating the ministry’s legislative agenda. She has also participated in the administrative boards and committees of several key agencies, including the National Organ Transplant Organization, the National Authority for Medically Assisted Reproduction, and the Drug Price Negotiation Committee of the National Organization for Healthcare Provision (EOPYY).
About Spyridon Papageorgiou
Papageorgiou brings extensive experience in cybersecurity to his new role. Until recently, he was Partner for Cyber Security in Technology and Transformation at KPMG Greece. Prior to that, he served as an officer in the Hellenic Navy, retiring with the rank of Rear Admiral (Lower Half).
For over twelve years, he worked in the Cyber Defence Directorate of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff (GEETHA), serving as its Director. He also led the Inter-Service Cyber Operations Centre (MCIRC) and Greece’s national Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT) for critical infrastructure.
Papageorgiou has taken part in European defence initiatives under the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), particularly in programs focused on cyber threat information sharing. He holds a postgraduate degree in Computer Science and numerous international professional certifications in cybersecurity. He played a central role in organizing the annual inter-agency cyber defence exercise ‘PANOPTIS’, and has lectured on information systems security, cyber attack response, and digital forensics at universities and military academies.