The present volume is something which perhaps fills a gap in the greek bibliography. This is a book which presents an easily-comprehended overview: from its pages there emerges a global picture of the greek public administration, on the one hand, in its "static" form-as it would be captured by the camera lens at the specific moment of today-and, on the other, as it has moved through its history of some 170 years from the constitution of the greek state and the introduction of the first administrative system.
The occasion for its compilation and publication was provided by the holding, planned for July 2001, of an international congress on administrative sciences in Athens, the 25th in the series of congresses held every three years by the International Institute of Administrative Sciences in collaboration with its "national sections", in this instance, the Hellenic Institute of Administrative Sciences. The custom that the country which hosts the congress should be responsible for producing a volume giving a picture of its "national public administration", is already deeply rooted, and the greek side has seen it as an obligation to respect the practice by continuing it.