Andreas Papaconstantinou is currently the Director for Neighbourhood and Middle East with the Directorate General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO) at the European Commission. In this capacity, he is also responsible for Humanitarian Aid Thematic Policies. Before joining DG ECHO, he was Head of Unit for Ocean Governance, Law of the Sea, Arctic Policy with the Directorate General Maritime Affairs and Fisheries at the European Commission. Prior to that Mr. Papaconstantinou was Senior Adviser in the cabinets of European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Maria Damanaki (2010‑2014) and European Commissioner for Environment Stavros Dimas (2004-2010). Previously, he was a member of the Policy Unit of the European Union's High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana (2002-2004), a seconded diplomat to NATO's International Secretariat, Defence Planning and Operations Division (1999-2002), and the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe for Albania (1998-1999). Mr. Papaconstantinou holds a Law Degree from Aristotle University in Greece and a Master's Degree in European Law from the Université Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium, and he has been a Fellow at the Weatherhead Centre for International Affairs, Harvard University.