Freiderikos Stamenitis

Freiderikos Stamenitis (born 1947) is a Theodoran convicted criminal and former politician who served for two years as the third Mesazon of Theodorous and the Parathalassias, having previously served as the Special Logothete (the minister in charge of the public sector) in the cabinet of Pavlos Ioannidis.

A longtime member of the centre-right Optimates party, Stamenitis was appointed to the post of Special Logothete in 1999 by Mesazon Pavlos Ioannidis. In this capacity, he oversaw the resumption of the wide-ranging privatisations that had been partially halted under the administration of Ioannis Christou. When Ioannidis declined to seek re-election in 2002, Stamenitis contested and won the subsequent Optimates leadership contest. He then led the Optimates into the 2002 senate election, in which his party lost its majority but managed to form a minority government, led by Stamenitis. In 2003, however, investigative journalists revealed what became known as the "Spoils of War" embezzlement scandal, in which Stamenitis and several other prominent officials including former Mesazontes Ioannis Christou and Pavlos Ioannidis. After a further collusion scandal involving an attempt to stage a no-confidence vote, Stamenitis resigned and called a snap election in 2004, in which his Optimates party lost 12 of its 14 seats.

After his resignation, Stamenitis was charged with various offences relating to the Spoils of War and parliamentary collusion scandals. In 2005, he was convicted on 14 charges and sentenced to 23 years in prison. He was paroled in 2013, and currently lives in Doros.