(Updates with Minister's comment, more details about the bombing and adds background)
ATHENS (Dow Jones) -- A bomb outside the seventh-floor office of the Minister of Public Order killed a policeman, severely damaged the building and put the Greek government on high alert.
"We have one dead police officer that succumbed to his serious injuries after the explosion of a booby-trapped package, which was placed outside Minister Michalis Chryssohoidis' office," police spokesperson Panagiotis Papapetropoulos told Dow Jones.
In a televised statement outside of the Ministry, Chryssohoidis said: "In a personal sense I have lost an invaluable friend from a cowardly attack and I vow that those responsible will pay."
The senior police officer was 53 years old and the father of two.
AFP identified the victim as Georges Vassilakis, the head of security at the Greek ministry of citizen protection.
The building that houses the Ministry of Public Order is considered one of the most closely guarded and safest offices in Greece. The Minister was near his office but escaped the impact of the blast.
There was no warning from a terrorist group about the bombing, and the Greek government has gone into emergency mode.
"We are not afraid and we will not give in to the terrorists, and we will bring these cowards to justice," Chryssohoidis said.
Greece has long had a problem with extremist left wing and anarchist terrorist groups, but rarely have they been about able to hit such a high-profile target. It also marks the first time in Greece that an attack has targeted the heart of the country's security apparatus and was carried out despite the heavy police presence at the ministry's entrance.
The building, on the Athens outskirts, was evacuated after the blast.
Two of Chryssohoidis's predecessors survived bombings, most recently an attack in May 2006 on the car of his conservative predecessor, who escaped unscathed.
That attack was claimed by the Revolutionary Struggle group, of which police arrested six members in April, including its alleged ringleader.
Copyright 2009 Dow Jones Newswires
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