Lt Colonel Athanasios Lanaras was born in 1965 in Veria, Imathias, Greece.

He was admitted to the Army Military Academy, Department of Financial Sciences, in 1991 and graduated top of his class in 1992; at that time he was commissioned as a second Lieutenant of the Financial Branch.

As a junior officer, he served in various Units of the Financial Branch, as well as in NAMFI for five years in the Accounting Branch of the Comptrollers Division.

In 2002 he graduated from the Greek Army’s Staff Officers’ Military School. From 2002 to 2010 he served in various other services of the Financial Branch, as well as in Greek Army’s Support Corps where he served as Staff Officer.

In  2010 he was promoted to Lt Colonel and was appointed  Chief of NAMFI’s Comptrollers Division, after relevant decision of Hellenic Army General Staff (HAGS).

Lt Colonel Lanaras has attended many courses in Greece and has received the following:

• Degree of  Administration of Enterprises from the University of Macedonia
• Certification of knowledge of  Financial and Computer Sciences by the National Center of Certifications (Ministry of Education), which places him among the Registered Certified Adult Instructors (Registration B)

He has also received all the decorations and awards related to his rank.

Lt Col Lanaras is married to Maria Pehlivanidou. The couple has three children: Vasilis, Stella and Katerina.