The Department of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Athens, although founded in 1982, can trace its origins back to the beginnings of the University of Athens in 1837. It evolved out of the Chair of Political Science at the Department of Law (which was one of the first departments of the oldest Balkan university) into an independent academic department. This happened a few years after the Chairs of Political Economy, which were founded in the late 19th century, evolved into the Department of Economics in the 1970s.