<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>EX-31.2
<SEQUENCE>20
<FILENAME>tmok03ex31-2.txt
<TEXT>
                                                                    Exhibit 31.2

                           THERMO ELECTRON CORPORATION

      CERTIFICATION REQUIRED BY EXCHANGE ACT RULES 13A-14(A) AND 15D-14(A),
                             AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO
                  SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

I, Theo Melas-Kyriazi, certify that:

1.     I have reviewed this Annual Report on Form 10-K of Thermo Electron
       Corporation;

2.     Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement
       of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the
       statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such
       statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered
       by this report;

3.     Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
       information included in this report, fairly present in all material
       respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of
       the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4.     The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible for
       establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as
       defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the registrant
       and have:

       a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such
          disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our
          supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the
          registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to
          us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in
          which this report is being prepared;

       b) [Paragraph omitted in accordance with SEC transition instructions
          contained in SEC Release 34-47986];

       c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls
          and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the
          effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end
          of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

       d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal
          control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant's
          most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth fiscal quarter in
          the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is
          reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal
          control over financial reporting; and

5.     The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on
       our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting,
       to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the registrant's
       board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

       a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or
          operation of internal control over financial reporting which are
          reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to
          record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

       b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other
          employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal
          control over financial reporting.

Date:  March 2, 2004


                                               /s/ Theo Melas-Kyriazi
                                               --------------------------------
                                               Theo Melas-Kyriazi
                                               Chief Financial Officer


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