Following the resignation of Mr Evangelos Venizelos, who has been elected to head the majority Socialist party, Mr Philippos Sachinidis was appointed Minister of Finance of the Hellenic Republic on 21 March 2012. He also becomes EIB Governor for the Hellenic Republic.

Prior to his appointment in the Government, Mr Sachinidis was from 2009 Deputy Minister of Finance. He was also a Member of the Hellenic Parliament from 2007.

Mr Sachinidis, born in 1963, began his professional career as a researcher at the Foundation of Economic and Industrial Research in Greece. He also served as an Economic Analyst at the National Bank of Greece and as a Special Economic Advisor in the office of former Prime Minister Konstantinos Simitis. From 1991 to 1994, he was a Professor of Economics at the Manchester School of Management.

Mr Sachinidis studied Economics at the University of Piraeus' Graduate School of Industrial Studies and holds a Master's degree from Queens College, City University of New York and a PhD in Economics from Manchester University.