Because of his political activities during the sixties, he was forced by the Colonels' regime into exile in France and Italy, and later his professional activities brought him to New York and West Berlin.
He has published more than a hundred books, which include novels, short stories, essays, poetry and plays. His most famous political novel “Z”, published in 1967 in Paris, was translated into thirty-two languages and filmed by Costa-Gavras. Since September 1996, he has been Permanent Representative of Greece at UNESCO. Vassilis Vassilikos lives in Paris.