New Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou appointed current Defence Minister Evangelos Venizelos as his new finance minister and deputy prime minister in a reshuffle on Friday, the government spokesman said.

Here are some key facts about Venizelos:

— A prolific writer, Venizelos was a top constitutional expert before his political career took off, but relatively little is known about his views on finance and economics.

— He challenged current Prime Minister George Papandreou for the leadership of the Socialist PASOK party after its second consecutive election defeat in 2007. Papandreou beat him in an open vote of party members by a margin of about 2:1.

— In 2001-2004, Venizelos was in charge of Greece's preparations for the Athens 2004 Olympics.

— He had been defence minister since the Socialists' 2009 election victory. He has held several cabinet posts in previous socialist administrations since the mid-1990s, including the positions of government spokesman, justice minister and development minister.

— He entered politics in 1993 as a deputy for his native district of Thessaloniki.

— He was born in 1957 and studied law at the University of Thessaloniki, northern Greece. He is married with one daughter and speaks French and English.