Elena Makrypidi was born in Athens. She studied International Economics in the Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB) and holds an MBA (Master of Business Administration) from Bocconi University in Milan. She has worked for five years in the private sector and in 2004, she entered the Faculty of Economic and Commercial Affairs of the National School of Public Administration. She has served at the Office for Economic and Commercial Affairs of the Greek Embassy in London and also in various Directorates of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responsible for international Energy issues, Bilateral Economic affairs and International Development Cooperation issues. She is now working at the B1 Directorate for Strategic Planning. She speaks English, French, Italian and Spanish. She is married to Fotis Papadopoulos and has two children.