Alumni in Focus: Nicos Rompapas

Growing up, I always believed that ideas mattered, but I also thought that the smartest path to drive change was to be a responsible and devoted professional. I saw no reason to expect much from politics. So, I built a career as a senior executive in the private sector. A classical liberal even then, I acknowledged the merit in markets, individual responsibility, and open institutions, while assuming that real change would come irrespective of ideological contests.

However, life proved me wrong when the 2009 financial crisis struck Greece. The political pressure permeated every corner of Greek life. Free markets were blamed, even though the Greek economy was one of the least free in the European Union. Suddenly, debates once considered academic or resolved became existential. The distance between “ideas” and “reality” collapsed. Many Greeks grew bitter and many surrendered to populism. The future of liberal democracy was at risk. It was then that I realized the ever-present resistance from vested interests, insulated bureaucracies, lobby groups, and inertia, undermined any prospect of getting out of the crisis. It was time to act to shift the perspective.

This is why I decided to devote myself full-time to KEFIM, the Center of Liberal Studies of Greece. Although I had run corporations, managing a think tank demanded a different kind of leadership: cultivating ideas, building networks, mapping and shaping public discourse, and walking the thin line between evidence and persuasion.

In those early years, when the pressure from the crisis and the new responsibilities hit, the support from Atlas Network was crucial. Through the training, peer-learning platforms, and grant programs Atlas Network provided, we acquired critical tools to professionalize our operations, strengthen communications, and promote best practices from the global liberty movement. With Atlas Network’s help, KEFIM has grown into one of the most influential think tanks in Greece.

Our strategy has always been to combine international benchmarks and local innovation. We began by introducing recognized indices in Greece, such as the Tax Foundation’s International Tax Competitiveness Index and the Fraser Institute’s Economic Freedom of the World Index, to spark a much-needed data-driven debate. Over time, we transplanted innovative local models from abroad: for example, the Municipal Effectiveness Index (inspired by the Lithuania Free Market Institute) and the Greek Panel of Economists (modelled on the IGM Economic Experts Panel at the University of Chicago).

As our capacity matured, we branched into wholly homegrown projects, including Agenda 2021, a comprehensive reform platform we published before the 2019 general elections and again before 2023. Many of its proposals were eventually adopted in governmental platforms or legislative initiatives. Through it all, we remained guided by a single conviction: ideas sure matter, but credible ideas, well-argued, well-communicated, and well-anchored in evidence, are the ones that can move minds and systems, create change, and generate impact.

When we started, few Greeks would openly identify as classical liberals. Classical liberalism was often blamed for anything and everything wrong in the world. Today, multiple surveys show classical liberalism among the top one or two ideological self-designations in Greece. This change in narrative, this reclamation of the language of freedom, is a mark of progress and pride for KEFIM, and my personally.

Still, the challenges ahead are real. As KEFIM enters its second decade, we face an increasingly polarized media environment, an entrenched echo chamber in public discourse, and a citizenry fatigued by unfulfilled promises. However, we stand stronger than ever since we possess a rare combination: a track record, a network of partners domestically and abroad (through EPICENTER, the European Liberal Forum, and, Atlas Network), and a deep conviction that institutional and cultural change happens slowly by seeding ideas, equipping leaders, and steadfastly defending principles.

Looking forward, my ambition for the upcoming decade is to scale our reach and impact: to bring economic and civic literacy into Greek high schools and universities, to strengthen our policy observatory so that citizens and journalists can monitor reform progress in real time, and to cultivate the next generation of liberal public intellectuals and policymakers.

In all this, Atlas Network has been a trusted companion: a mentor, a source of insight, and a bridge to global networks of innovation.

Through KEFIM, we will continue working with friends and colleagues to bring ideas of freedom to the real world.