Spyros Vassilopoulos is new elected member of executive committee

The EFP general assembly, held in Vienna on March 26, elected Spyros Vassilopoulos (Greece) as the new elected member of the federation’s executive committee.

Dr Vassilopoulos joins the “presidential ladder” and will become EFP president for 2025-26, following the one-year terms in office of Andreas Stavropoulos (2022-23), Darko Božić (2023-24), and Moritz Kebschull (2024-25).

In his application for election, supported by the Hellenic Society for Periodontology and Implant Dentistry (HSP), he described how being a member of the organising committees of both the EuroPerio9 and EuroPerio10 congresses “helped me to establish a solid and productive collaboration with all national societies and benefited me with long-lasting friendships. My availability and response to all the issues that arose were heavily tested and proved by the result to be immediate and continuous. I intend to maintain and improve this attitude.”

He added that this work for the EFP, which included being chair of the ambassador committee for EuroPerio9 (Amsterdam, 2018), provided him with a rare opportunity to “appreciate in depth the structure and function of the EFP” but also to realise that each society has very different needs and possibilities. He said he was particularly conscious of the demands on smaller societies – such as the HSP – which have limited support staff.

“Despite the pandemic challenges, the EFP manages to be active in all fields,” he stated. “Many achievements gained so far but there are still new challenges and ideas to be implemented. However, the implementation of those ideas may increase the load on the shoulders of the national societies.”

He suggested that upgrading the role of the EFP representatives could be beneficial and added “I strongly believe that it is the EFP that must provide help to the societies, according to their individual needs, and not vice versa.”

Spyridon (Spyros) Vassilopoulos is assistant professor in the department of periodontology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in Greece. He has been an executive member of the board of the HSP since 2009 and its EFP representative since 2017. As well as his work on the committees of EuroPerio9 and EuroPerio10, he has chaired several EFP Perio Sessions webinars in the EFP Virtual programme.

Commenting on his election, Spyros Vassilopoulos said: “I am deeply honoured and humbled for being elected to serve our federation. Hard work is waiting ahead for me to keep true to my pre-electoral promises.”