Second Greek ministry secretary resigns as urban planning corruption scandal widens

Giorgos Didaskalou, the general secretary of Greece's Ministry of Culture, submitted his resignation on Thursday, 11 June 2026, in the wake of a growing corruption scandal involving urban planning offices. His departure marks the second resignation of a ministry general secretary linked to the case, following that of Efthymios Bakogiannis, the general secretary for Spatial Planning and Urban Environment at the Ministry of Environment and Energy, who resigned on Monday, 8 June.

A long-serving official steps down

Didaskalou had held the post for nearly seven years, making him one of the longest-serving and most experienced administrative officials at the ministry. Government sources indicated that the political leadership had decided certain general secretaries who had served for many years had "closed their cycle" and were asked to resign.

Some general secretaries who had many years in the same position were considered by the political leadership to have closed their cycle and were asked to resign.

The link to the urban planning probe

The resignation follows the release of details from the case file on the urban planning corruption ring. Central to the reports is architect engineer Nafsika Chatzidaki, who is among the defendants in the case. Chatzidaki is a member of the Central Archaeological Council (KAS) and the Central Council for Modern Monuments (KSNM), both of which Didaskalou chaired in his institutional capacity.

A career in public administration

A civil engineer by profession, Didaskalou came from a background in local government and public administration. Before assuming the role of general secretary at the Culture Ministry in 2019, he served as general secretary of the Municipality of Amarousio during the mayoral term of Giorgos Patoulis, and later as general secretary of the Decentralized Administration of the Peloponnese, Western Greece and the Ionian Islands.

At the Culture Ministry, he played a pivotal role in the administrative operation of the body, overseeing a series of significant cultural heritage projects, restorations, museum interventions, and works funded by national and European resources. He also held the weighty institutional position of president of both KAS and KSNM, the two highest advisory bodies of the Culture Ministry.

Judicial proceedings advance

Meanwhile, six defendants in the criminal organization case, which allegedly provided paid urban planning services, are being sent to prison following their testimonies before the Corruption Investigator.