Greek Finance Minister Resigns After 'No' Vote
6 July 2015 14:40 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis resigned Monday, July 6, 2015, saying he was told shortly after Greece's decisive referendum result that some other eurozone finance ministers and the country's other creditors would appreciate his not attending the ministers' meetings.
Varoufakis said tht Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had judged that his resignation "might help achieve a deal" and that he was leaving the finance ministry for that reason.
"I shall wear the creditors' loathing with pride," Varoufakis said in his announcement.
Greeks voted overwhelmingly to reject creditors' proposal of more austerity measures in return for rescue loans, in the country's first referendum in 41 years on Sunday, July 5, 2015.
The referendum "will stay in history as a unique moment when a small European nation rose up against debt-bondage," Varoufakis said.
With his brash style and fondness for frequent media appearances at the start of his tenure at the ministry when the new government was formed in January, Varoufakis had visibly annoyed many of the eurozone's finance ministers during Greece's debt negotiations.
There was no immediate announcement of his replacement.
AP
