Literally, the term “administration” means management, care, and direction of affairs, institutions and people.

Public administration aims to meet the needs of society and is bound by law to benefit the public interest. In accordance with the Greek Constitution, “civil servants shall serve the people” (article 103).

The Administration of Higher Education Institutions in Greece consists of a number of individual and collective bodies, administrative service units and committees, which are governed by the provisions of law, enacted by the Greek State, focusing on their mission, that is, the reason they were set up.

One year after the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki was founded, its Administration was established pursuant to Law no. 3341/1925. Within a few years, the Administration evolved and its services improved, meeting the needs of a modern European university.

The Administration is organized vertically, based on the hierarchy of the bodies it consists of, and thus the body which is responsible for decision-making is at the top of the pyramid. It is also organized horizontally, based on the nature of the services offered to cover the needs of the university, pursuant to the presidential decree no. 47/19-2-96 (Government Gazette 33/5-3-1996), which was amended and complemented with the presidential decree no. 206/4-10-05 (Government Gazette 251/11-10-05).

Pursuant to the Greek Constitution (article 16, par. 6), Higher Education Institutions are self-governed legal entities under public law. The Administration of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki aims to enhance the efforts made to provide young scholars with high-quality education, as well as promote cultural values and universal ideals.