Alexandra "Aleka" Papariga (née Drosou; el, Αλέκα Παπαρήγα; born 5 November 1945) is a
communist Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...
who served the
Communist Party of Greece (KKE) as its General Secretary from 1991 to 2013. She is the first woman to be General Secretary of KKE, and thus the first woman to head a major political party in Greece.
[CV at Hellenic Parliament website]
Early years
Papariga was born in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
in 1945. Her parents, Nikos Drosos and Kiki Drosou were
National Resistance fighters and members of
Communist Party of Greece (KKE), of
Cephalonian origin.
She graduated from the Historical-Archeological Section of the Philosophy Faculty of
Athens University
The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; el, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών, ''Ethnikó ke Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the Univers ...
and after graduation worked as an employee for eight years in various accounting offices. At the same time, she worked as a private tutor. Since 1976 she has worked exclusively in party and social activities.
Political career
Papariga started out as an activist in the peace movement in 1961 and soon after joined the pupils' organization of the youth section of the
United Democratic Left (EDA).
She was active in various school and student movements until the
military coup
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
in 1967. Throughout this period, she was a member of the Bureau of the EDA youth section pupils' organization and then of the "Lambrakis" Democratic Youth Students’ organization Bureau.
Military junta
She joined KKE in 1968, while it was illegal during the
Greek military junta
The Greek junta or Regime of the Colonels, . Also known within Greece as just the Junta ( el, η Χούντα, i Choúnta, links=no, ), the Dictatorship ( el, η Δικτατορία, i Diktatoría, links=no, ) or the Seven Years ( el, η Ε ...
[ and was active in the prisoners' families' movement.
]
Third Hellenic Republic
After the end of the military junta, she became a member of the Bureau of the City Committee of the Athens Party Organization (KOA), and was also active in the women's movement. A founding member of the Women's Federation of Greece, she participated in the organization of national events for International Women's Day. She was a leading member of the women's movement until 1981, and then active in the Athens Party Organization up to 1991. During her activities in the women's movement, she participated in international congresses of the Women's International Democratic Federation
Women's International Democratic Federation (WIDF) is an international organization with the stated goal of working for women's rights. It was established in 1945 and was most active during the Cold War. It initially focussed on anti-fascism, worl ...
, the United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
, and many international conferences and symposia.
Papariga has been a member of the Central Committee of KKE since the 10th Congress (May 1978) and of the Politburo of the CC since 1986. On 27 February 1991 at the 13th Party Congress, she was elected as Secretary-General of the KKE. She was unanimously re-elected as Secretary-General on 26 May 1996, at the 15th Party Congress.[ In February 2009, Papariga was re-elected as Secretary-General at the 18th Party Congress. This re-election made her the longest serving General Secretary of the KKE.][
]
Personal life
She married the journalist Thanasis Paparigas, with whom she had a daughter, Vasileia, and another child who died at the age of three. Her husband died on October 11, 2002, after being seriously injured in a car accident.
References
External links
Short biographic note
website of the Communist Party of Greece
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Papariga, Aleka
1945 births
Living people
Members of the Lambrakis Democratic Youth
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens alumni
Stalinism
Anti-revisionists
Greek women writers
Communist women writers
Socialist feminists
General Secretaries of the Communist Party of Greece
Greek MPs 1993–1996
Greek MPs 1996–2000
Greek MPs 2000–2004
Greek MPs 2004–2007
Greek MPs 2007–2009
Greek MPs 2009–2012
Greek MPs 2012 (May)
Greek MPs 2012–2014
Greek MPs 2015 (February–August)
Greek MPs 2015–2019
20th-century Greek politicians
20th-century Greek women politicians
21st-century Greek politicians
21st-century Greek women politicians
Politicians from Athens
Greek MPs 2019–2023