NEWSMAKERS-New Greek economic ministers seen as able team
* Katseli was key architect of PASOK economic platform
* Papaconstantinou must boost revenues, cut spending
* Team seen well-equipped to cope with economic crisis
ATHENS, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Greece's new economy and finance ministers, Louka Katseli and George Papaconstantinou, are U.S.- and London-trained economists who must jump-start the flagging economy without inflating budget deficits and a huge debt.
New Prime Minister George Papandreou split the former economy and finance ministry, appointing Katseli to the broad policy role and Papaconstantinou, a younger generation economist, to the tough task of collecting taxes and balancing the books, as well as representing Greece in Brussels. [nL6528857]
Both are seen by markets as capable hands.
"It is a good team, it is a credible team, it is a team with domestic and international experience and political clout," said political analyst Anthony Livanios.
Katseli, 57, served as economic adviser to Papandreou's father, party founder Andreas, between 1993 and 1996. She must draft policy to revive an economy on the brink of recession.
"She has a good grasp of the issues, having been the architect of the socialist PASOK party's economic programme," said Alexander Moraitakis, president of the Greek Brokers Association SMEHA.
"She doesn't hide in her shell but likes to consult on market issues," he added.
An MP for the party she joined in 1987, Katseli hails from the old socialist guard which ruled Greece for about two decades before being ousted by the conservative New Democracy party in 2004. She helped draft the economic platform that appealed to voters and played a role in returning PASOK to power on Sunday.
Her husband Gerasimos Arsenis served as one of Andreas's first economy ministers in 1982-1985. A Princeton graduate, Katseli taught economics at Yale and worked for the OECD. Her website is loukakatseli.gr/.
"We are fully aware of the difficulties," she told Greek TV last week. "We are prepared for the budget and a new policy, because we must give the pulse of a new policy immediately."
Papaconstantinou, 47, who studied at the London School of Economics and New York University, was Papandreou's economic adviser in 2004-2007 and party spokesman after that.
"He has long experience in the economy but is also a new dynamic person," Livanios said. "He has played a leading role in the new face of PASOK. He has both the political mandate and the technocratic skills to lead the most sensitive ministry."
He led a successful EU election campaign for PASOK in June, when he was voted into the European Parliament. He will have the tough task of explaining Greece's economic strategy to the European Union.
"Our economic policy aims to jump-start the economy by redistributing funds towards growth objectives, cutting waste and and curtailing tax evasion," he said last week.
A professor of economics in Athens, he has worked at the OECD in France. His website is www.gpapak.gr. (Additional reporting by George Georgiopoulos; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)
