Yannis Balafas

Yannis Balafas studied at the NMU of Athens and worked as a civil engineer. He became politically active in the Left during his student years, participating in the Lambrakis Youth. During the military dictatorship, he was a member of Rigas Feraios; he was prosecuted and sent into internal exile. He was a member of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) from 1974 until the party split in 1991. He was a founding member of Synaspismos, SYRIZA, and SYRIZA–Progressive Alliance. For many years, he served as a member of the Central Committee and the Political Secretariat of the party. He was elected Member of the Hellenic Parliament for the Southern Sector of Athens B from 2015 to 2023. During the SYRIZA government, he was elected Vice President of the Hellenic Parliament and served as Deputy Minister of Interior and Deputy Minister for Migration Policy. He is currently a member of the Central Committee of SYRIZA–Progressive Alliance. His articles have been published in Avgi and other left-wing periodicals. In 2012, he published his first book, It Took 20 Years: The Chronicle of the Synaspismos Project. In 2025, his second book was published, The Rise… The Fall… The Tomorrow… SYRIZA–Progressive Alliance: A Chronicle, 2012–2024.