ONE of Greece’s “most inspirational leaders and educational visionaries” has been granted an honorary degree from Queen Margaret University (QMU) at Musselburgh.

Dimitris Diamantis, principal of Metropolitan College – one of the largest providers of private higher education in Europe with eight campuses spread across mainland Greece and the Greek islands – received the honour in recognition of his “outstanding leadership qualities and his services to the development of higher education in Greece”.

Professor Richard Butt, deputy principal of QMU, flew to Greece to present Mr Diamantis with the award of honorary doctorate in business administration. The presentation took place at Metropolitan College’s graduation ceremony in the surroundings of Athens Concert Hall.

Prof Butt said: “Dimitris played a key role in bringing Queen Margaret University to Greece through, initially, a logopaedics degree, followed in 2003 by a degree in mass media and communication. Since then, he has led the longest continuous educational partnership in Greece which today comprises 13 Queen Margaret University undergraduate and graduate courses with around 3,000 students.

“Dimitris has been pivotal to the strength of the partnership between Metropolitan College and Queen Margaret University.

“Dimitris’ passion for lifelong learning, partnership and social justice chime with Queen Margaret University’s values.”