Margarita Papandreou, the American-born former wife of Greek Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou and a prominent advocate for women’s rights in Greece, has died just days before her 103rd birthday.
Papandreou was born Margaret Chant in Oak Park, Illinois, on September 30, 1923. She first studied journalism and later earned a master’s degree in public health at the University of Minnesota. There, she met Andreas Papandreou in 1948.
Her life in Greece became closely linked to one of the country’s best-known political families. But her own public work went beyond her role as Andreas Papandreou’s wife.
From America to Greece
Margarita Chant married Andreas Papandreou in 1951. They later had four children: George, Sophia, Nikos and Andrikos Papandreou.
The family lived in the United States before moving to Greece. During the military dictatorship that began in 1967, the Papandreous lived in exile before returning to Greece after the restoration of democracy in 1974.
Margarita Papandreou also developed her own interests in social issues, women’s rights and peace. She wrote books and articles throughout her life and later documented parts of her personal and public experience in her memoir Love and Power.
A Leading Voice in Greece’s Women’s Movement
Papandreou’s most distinctive public role came through the Women’s Union of Greece, known as EGE.
She helped establish the organization in 1976 and served as its president for eight years. EGE became part of the women’s movement that sought changes to women’s legal and social position in Greece after the restoration of democracy.
Papandreou also took part in Greece’s international work on women’s rights. EGE credits her with leading a Greek delegation to the United Nations in New York in connection with the country’s participation in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, or CEDAW. UN records show that Greece signed the convention in 1982 and ratified it in 1983.
Her work attracted academic attention as well. A study published in the Journal of Modern Greek Studies examined her role in the post-junta Greek women’s movement and highlighted her links with the international feminist movement.
A Life She Also Told in Her Own Words
Papandreou later wrote openly about her life with Andreas Papandreou and the years they spent at the center of Greece’s public life.
Her memoir Love and Power offered a personal account of their relationship while also reflecting on her involvement in the women’s movement. The book was originally written in English and later published in Greek.
Her story crossed several worlds. She was an American-born woman who built her life in Greece, a mother in one of the country’s most prominent political families, and an activist who created her own public role in the women’s movement.
Margarita Papandreou died on September 18, 2026, twelve days before her 103rd birthday. She leaves behind a life that was closely connected to Greece’s political history but also extended into the country’s changing social and women’s rights landscape.
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