Costas Simitis, former prime minister of Greece and the architect of the country’s joining the common European currency, the euro, has died at 88, state TV ERT reports.

Mr. Simitis imposed financial measures to prepare for Greece’s entry into the eurozone and laid the groundwork for the Olympic Games’ return to Athens.

Costas Simitis, former prime minister of Greece credited as the architect of the country’s joining the common European currency, the euro, died Jan. 5 at a hospital in Corinth. He was 88. State TV ERT announced the death but did not provide further details.

Former Greek prime minister Costas Simitis, who led the country into the European Union's single currency in 2001, died on Sunday aged 88 at his summer house in the Peloponnese.

Costas Simitis, the reformist prime minister whose governments oversaw Greece's eurozone entry, helped Cyprus join the EU and planned for the Athens 2004 Olympics, died Sunday at the age of 88.

Costas Simitis, who served as Greece’s Prime Minister for two consecutive terms, is remembered as a European visionary and a leader whose tenure marked a transformative era for modern Greece.

The funeral for the former Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis will be held on Thursday, 9 January, at 12pm at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens.

Former Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis, known for leading Greece into the eurozone, has passed away at the age of 88. Greek media reported that Simitis was found unconscious at his holiday home near Corinth and transported to a hospital where he was declared dead.

During his tenure, Simitis managed a period of economic reform, steering the country through changes and stabilizing the Greek economy.