Born in
Mavrochori,
Kastoria, Petsalnikos studied law in Greece and Germany.
Political career In
1985, he was elected for the first time as an MP for the
Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK). He served as the
Minister for Macedonia-Thrace between 22 October 1996 and 30 October 1998, the
Minister of Public Order between 30 October 1998 and 19 February 1999. Petsalnikos resigned in the aftermath of the
Abdullah Öcalan's capture. Later he acted as the
Minister of Justice between 24 October 2001 and 10 March 2004. He was elected to the position of Speaker on 15 October 2009 by 168 of the Parliament's 300 MPs. On 3 January 2015, it was announced that Petsalnikos would join former
prime minister Papandreou in leaving PASOK to found the new
Movement of Democratic Socialists.
Personal life He was married and had three children. ==References==