Politics of Greece
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...
is a
parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...
representative democratic Representative democracy, also known as indirect democracy, is a type of democracy where elected people represent a group of people, in contrast to direct democracy. Nearly all modern Western-style democracies function as some type of represe ...
republic, where the
President of Greece The president of Greece, officially the President of the Hellenic Republic ( el, Πρόεδρος της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας, Próedros tis Ellinikís Dimokratías), commonly referred to in Greek as the President of the Rep ...
is the
head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...
and the
Prime Minister of Greece The prime minister of the Hellenic Republic ( el, Πρωθυπουργός της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας, Prothypourgós tis Ellinikís Dimokratías), colloquially referred to as the prime minister of Greece ( el, Πρωθυ ...
is the
head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a ...
within a
multi-party system In political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in ...
.
Legislative power A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known a ...
is vested in both the
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...
and the
Hellenic Parliament The Hellenic Parliament ( el, Ελληνικό Κοινοβούλιο, Elliniko Kinovoulio; formally titled el, Βουλή των Ελλήνων, Voulí ton Ellínon, Boule of the Hellenes, label=none), also known as the Parliament of the He ...
. Between the restoration of democracy in 1974 and the
Greek government-debt crisis Greece faced a sovereign debt crisis in the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2007–2008. Widely known in the country as The Crisis ( Greek: Η Κρίση), it reached the populace as a series of sudden reforms and austerity measures that ...
the party system was dominated by the liberal-conservative New Democracy and the social-democratic
PASOK The Panhellenic Socialist Movement ( el, Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα, Panellínio Sosialistikó Kínima, ), known mostly by its acronym PASOK, (; , ) is a social-democratic political party in Greece. Until 2012, it ...
. Since 2012, the anti-austerity, democratic socialist party
Syriza The Coalition of the Radical Left – Progressive Alliance ( el, Συνασπισμός Ριζοσπαστικής Αριστεράς – Προοδευτική Συμμαχία, Synaspismós Rizospastikís Aristerás – Proodeftikí Simachía), ...
has taken the place of PASOK as the largest left wing party, with their first election victory in January 2015. The
judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
is independent of the executive and the legislature. The
Constitution of Greece The Constitution of Greece ( el, Σύνταγμα της Ελλάδας, Syntagma tis Elladas) was created by the Fifth Revisionary Parliament of the Hellenes in 1974, after the fall of the Greek military junta and the start of the Third Helle ...
, which describes Greece as a "presidential parliamentary republic", includes extensive specific guarantees of
civil liberties Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties ma ...
and vests the powers of the
head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...
in a president elected by parliament. The Greek governmental structure is similar to that found in many other Western
democracies Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose go ...
, and has been described as a compromise between the French and German models. The prime minister and cabinet play the central role in the political process, while the president performs some executive and legislative functions in addition to ceremonial duties. Voting in Greece is officially compulsory, but this rule is not enforced.


Executive branch

The
Cabinet of Greece The cabinet of Greece, officially called the Ministerial Council (), constitutes the Government of Greece ( el, Κυβέρνηση της Ελλάδας). It is the collective decision-making body of the Hellenic Republic, composed of the Prime Mi ...
, which is the main organ of the
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...
, includes the heads of all executive ministries, appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister.


President

The President of the Republic is elected by the Parliament for a five-year term (election last held 22 January 2020), and a maximum of two terms in office. When a presidential term expires, Parliament votes to elect the new president. In the first two votes, a majority (200 votes) is necessary. The third and final vote requires a (180 votes) majority. If the third vote is fruitless, Parliament is dissolved and elections are proclaimed by the outgoing President within the next 30 days. In the new Parliament, the election for president is repeated immediately with a majority required for the initial vote, an absolute majority for the second one (151 votes) and a simple majority for the third and final one. The system is so designed as to promote consensus presidential candidates among the main political parties. The president has the power to declare war, to grant
pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...
(forgiveness) and to conclude agreements of peace, alliance, and participation in international organizations; upon the request of the government a simple parliamentary majority is required to confirm such actions, agreements, or treaties. An absolute or a three-fifths majority is required in exceptional cases (for example, the accession into the EU needed a majority). The president can also exercise certain emergency powers, which must be countersigned by the appropriate cabinet minister. The president may not dissolve parliament, dismiss the government, suspend certain articles of the constitution, issue a proclamation or declare a state of siege without countersigning by the prime minister or the appropriate cabinet minister. To call a referendum, they must obtain approval from parliament. They can appoint ministers after they are recommended by the Prime Minister. Although not official, the President of Greece is usually from the main opposition party so that the government and opposition can agree and not host elections. Sometimes they are chosen from outside the political ranks. Currently, the President of Greece is Katerina Sakellaropoulou, the eighth and first female President of Greece since the restoration of democracy in 1974.


Prime minister

The prime minister is elected by the Parliament and is usually the leader of the party controlling the absolute majority of MPs. According to the Constitution, the prime minister safeguards the unity of the government and directs its activities. Although officially holding the second highest rank as head of the Hellenic government and not the Republic, they are the most powerful person of the Greek political system and recommends ministers to the President for appointment or dismissal. Although officially just head of Government, not of state, they conduct professional business and the President is just the Supreme Executive.


Maintaining the support of parliament

Greek parliamentary politics hinge upon the principle of the "" (pronounced "dhedhilomeni"), the "declared confidence" of Parliament to the Prime Minister and his/her administration. This means that the President of the Republic is bound to appoint, as Prime Minister, a person who will be approved by a majority of the Parliament's members (i.e. 151 votes). With the current electoral system, it is the leader of the party gaining a plurality of the votes in the Parliamentary elections who is appointed Prime Minister. An administration may at any time seek a "vote of confidence". Conversely a number of members of parliament may ask that a "vote of reproach" be taken. Both are rare occurrences with usually predictable outcomes as voting outside the party line happens very seldom.


Legislative branch

Greece elects a legislature by universal suffrage of all citizens over the age of 17 (changed in 2018). The
Greek Parliament The Hellenic Parliament ( el, Ελληνικό Κοινοβούλιο, Elliniko Kinovoulio; formally titled el, Βουλή των Ελλήνων, Voulí ton Ellínon, Boule of the Hellenes, label=none), also known as the Parliament of the He ...
(Βουλή των Ελλήνων) has 300 members, elected for a four-year term by a system of reinforced
proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
in 48 multi-seat constituencies, 8 single-seat constituencies and a single nationwide list. 288 of the 300 seats are determined by constituency voting, and voters may select the candidate or candidates of their choice by marking their name on the party ballot. The remaining 12 seats are filled from nationwide party lists on a top-down basis and based on the proportion of the total vote each party received. Greece uses a complex reinforced proportional representation electoral system which discourages splinter parties and makes a parliamentary majority possible even if the leading party falls short of a majority of the popular vote. Under the current electoral law, any single party must receive at least a 3% nationwide vote tally to elect members of parliament (the so-called "3% threshold"). The largest party gets a 50-seat bonus (out of 300 seats) ostensibly to ensure elections return viable governing majorities. Various times throughout the years, the system has been changed, and parties often fall short of the 151 seats required to have a majority, so they create coalition. The law in its current form favors the
first past the post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast thei ...
party to achieve an absolute (151 parliamentary seats) majority, provided it receives a 41%+ nationwide vote. This is touted to enhance governmental stability. These electoral laws can be changed by simple parliamentary majority, but a law so changed will not come into effect for two election cycles unless passed by a majority in the Hellenic Parliament.


Judicial branch

In Greece the judicial branch is divided into civil, and administrative courts. Civil courts judge civil and penal cases, whereas administrative courts judge administrative cases, namely disputes between the citizens and the State. The judicial system of Greece comprises three Supreme Courts: the
Court of Cassation A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case, they only interpret the relevant law. In this they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In th ...
(Άρειος Πάγος), the
Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...
(Συμβούλιο της Επικρατείας) and the Chamber of Accounts (Ελεγκτικό Συνέδριο). These high courts are composed of professional judges, graduates of the National School of Judges. The way the judges are gradually promoted, until they become members of the Supreme Courts, is defined by the Constitution and the existing laws. The presidents and the vice-presidents of the three Supreme Courts are chosen by the
Cabinet of Greece The cabinet of Greece, officially called the Ministerial Council (), constitutes the Government of Greece ( el, Κυβέρνηση της Ελλάδας). It is the collective decision-making body of the Hellenic Republic, composed of the Prime Mi ...
among the serving members of each of the Supreme Courts. The
Court of Cassation A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case, they only interpret the relevant law. In this they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In th ...
is the supreme civil and penal court, whereas the
Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...
is the supreme administrative court. The Chamber of Accounts has an
exclusive jurisdiction Exclusive jurisdiction exists in civil procedure if one court has the power to adjudicate a case to the exclusion of all other courts. The opposite situation is concurrent jurisdiction (or non-exclusive jurisdiction) in which more than one cour ...
over certain administrative areas (for example it judges disputes arising from the legislation regulating the pensions of civil servants) and its decisions are irrevocable. This means that they are not judged at second instance by the Council of State. Sometimes, the Supreme Courts take contradictory decisions or they judge differently the constitutionality of a legal provision. These disputes are resolved by the Supreme Special Court, whose composition and jurisdiction is regulated by the Constitution (article 100). As its name reveals, this court is not permanent and it sits when a special case belonging to its jurisdiction arises. When the Supreme Special Court sits, it comprises eleven members: the presidents of the three Supreme Courts, four members of the Court of Cassation and four members of the Council of State. When it judges the constitutionality of a law or resolves the disputes between Supreme Courts, its composition comprises two more members: two professors of the Law Schools of Greece. The Supreme Special Court is the only court which can declare an unconstitutional legal provision as "powerless" (something like "null and void"), while the three Supreme Courts can only declare an unconstitutional legal provision as "inapplicable" to that particular case. The Supreme Special Court is also the Supreme Electoral Court, judging pleas against the legality of the legislative elections.


Administrative divisions

Greece is divided into 13 administrative regions which are further divided into 74 regional units. The 13 administrative regions (Περιφέρειες, Periféries) are each headed by a popularly elected governor (Περιφερειάρχης, Periferiárhis) and presided over by the popularly elected regional council (Περιφερειακό Συμβούλιο, Periferiakó Simvoúlio). Each of the 74 regional units (Περιφερειακές Ενότητες, Periferiakés Enóti̱tes) are headed by a vice governor (Αντιπεριφερειάρχης, Antiperiferiárhis), who is taken from the same political party as the elected governor. The 13 regions are mostly political and geographically. Greece is home to nine regions:
Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...
, with the capital Alexandroupolis, Macedonia, with the capital of
Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
; Epirus; Central Greece; Peloponnese; the Ionian Islands; the Aegean islands; Crete; and Athens. Greece's 74 regional units are divided into 325 municipalities (Δήμοι, Dhími) which are led by a popularly elected mayor (Δήμαρχος, Dhímarhos) and municipal council (Δημοτικό Συμβούλιο, Dhimotikó Simvoúlio). Each municipality is divided into small municipal units (Δημοτικές Ενότητες, Dhimotikés Enótites) which in turn contain municipal communities (relatively urban communities) and local communities (relatively rural communities). Municipal councils select community members to serve on more local town hall councils which focus on local needs in the municipality's communities and give local feedback to the municipal government. Although municipalities and villages have elected officials, they often do not have an adequate independent revenue base and must depend on the central government budget for a large part of their financial needs. Consequently, they are subject to numerous central government controls. This also leads to extremely low municipal taxes (usually around 0.2% or less). Greece also includes one autonomous region, the
monastic Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religion, religious way of life in which one renounces world (theology), worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic ...
community of the Holy Mountain,
Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the peni ...
.


Foreign relations

As one of the first Euro-Atlantic member states in the region of Southeast Europe, Greece enjoys a prominent geopolitical role, due to its political and geographical proximity to Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. Its main allies are France, United Kingdom, Italy, Bulgaria, United States, the other
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...
countries and the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
. Greece also maintains strong diplomatic relations with Cyprus, Albania, Russia, Serbia, Armenia and Israel, while at the same time focuses at improving further the good relations with Egypt and the
Arab World The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...
,
Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historica ...
, India and China. As member of both the EU and the Union for the Mediterranean, Greece is a key player in the eastern Mediterranean region and has encouraged the collaboration between neighbors, as well as promoting the
Energy Triangle The Energy Triangle is a natural gas extraction plan between the three allied countries Cyprus, Israel, and Greece. The three countries agreed to use the gas fields Tamar, Leviathan, and Aphrodite; found in 2009, 2010, and 2011 respectively. Abou ...
, for gas exports to Europe. Greece also has the largest economy in the
Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
, where it is an important regional investor. Prominent issues in Hellenic foreign policy include the claims in the Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean by Turkey and the Turkish occupation of Cyprus.


Notable politicians of Greece


Former

* Evangelos Averoff *
Georgios Christakis-Zografos Georgios Christakis-Zografos ( el, Γεώργιος Χρηστάκης-Ζωγράφος; 1863–1920) was a Greek politician, minister of foreign affairs and president of the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus (1914). Life Studies and ear ...
* Epameinondas Deligiorgis * Theodoros Deligiannis *
Ion Dragoumis Ion Dragoumis (; 14 September 1878 – 31 July 1920) was a Greek diplomat, philosopher, writer and revolutionary. Biography Born in Athens, Dragoumis was the son of Stephanos Dragoumis who was foreign minister under Charilaos Trikoupis. The ...
* Stephanos Dragoumis * Dimitrios Gounaris * Ilias Iliou *
Dimitrios Kallergis Dimitrios Kallergis ( el, Δημήτριος Καλλέργης; 18038 April 1867) was a fighter of the Greek War of Independence, major general, politician and one of the most important protagonists of the 3 September 1843 Revolution. Life E ...
* Konstantinos Kanaris * Panagiotis Kanellopoulos *
Ioannis Kapodistrias Count Ioannis Antonios Kapodistrias (10 or 11 February 1776 – 9 October 1831), sometimes anglicized as John Capodistrias ( el, Κόμης Ιωάννης Αντώνιος Καποδίστριας, Komis Ioannis Antonios Kapodistrias; russian: ...
* Konstantinos Karamanlis *
Ioannis Kolettis Ioannis Kolettis (; died 17 September 1847) was a Greek politician who played a significant role in Greek affairs from the Greek War of Independence through the early years of the Greek Kingdom, including as Minister to France and serving twic ...
*
Alexandros Koumoundouros Alexandros Koumoundouros ( el, Αλέξανδρος Κουμουνδούρος, 4 February 1815 – 26 February 1883) was a Greek politician. Born in Kampos, on the Messenian side of the Mani Peninsula, he was the son of Spyridon-Galanis Koumound ...
*
Leonidas Kyrkos Leonidas Kyrkos (; 12 October 1924 – 28 August 2011) was a Greek leftist politician and member of the Hellenic Parliament and the European Parliament. Life Leonidas Kyrkos was born in Heraklion, Crete, to Greek politician Michail Kyrkos, who ...
* Grigoris Lambrakis * Spyros Markezinis *
Alexandros Mavrokordatos Alexandros Mavrokordatos ( el, Αλέξανδρος Μαυροκορδάτος; 11 February 179118 August 1865) was a Greek statesman, diplomat, politician and member of the Mavrocordatos family of Phanariotes. Biography In 1812, Mavrokordato ...
*
Andreas Metaxas Andreas Metaxas ( el, Ανδρέας Μεταξάς; 179019 September 1860) was a Greek politician, fighter of the Greek War of Independence and diplomat from Cephalonia. He was prime minister of Greece from 3 September 1843 to 16 February 1844 ...
* Ioannis Metaxas *
Konstantinos Mitsotakis Konstantinos Mitsotakis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Μητσοτάκης, ; – 29 May 2017) was a Greek politician who was 7th Prime Minister of Greece from 1990 to 1993. He graduated in law and economics from the University of Athens. His ...
* Alexandros Panagoulis * Alexandros Papagos * Alexandros Papanastasiou *
Andreas Papandreou Andreas Georgiou Papandreou ( el, Ανδρέας Γεωργίου Παπανδρέου, ; 5 February 1919 – 23 June 1996) was a Greek economist, politician and a dominant figure in Greek politics, known for founding the political party PASOK, ...
* Georgios Papandreou *
Nikolaos Plastiras Nikolaos Plastiras ( el, Νικόλαος Πλαστήρας; 4 November 1883 – 26 July 1953) was a Greek general and politician, who served thrice as Prime Minister of Greece. A distinguished soldier known for his personal bravery, he ...
*
Georgios Rallis Georgios Ioannou Rallis ( el, Γεώργιος Ιωάννου Ράλλης; 26 December 1918 – 15 March 2006), anglicised to George Rallis, was a Greek conservative politician and the 2nd Prime Minister of Greece from 1980 to 198 Ancestors in ...
* Alexandros Rizos Rangavis * Ioannis Sfakianakis *
Themistoklis Sofoulis Themistoklis Sofoulis or Sophoulis (; 24 November 1860 – 24 June 1949) was a prominent centrist and liberal Greek politician from Samos Island, who served three times as Prime Minister of Greece, with the Liberal Party, which he led for many ...
* Konstantinos Stephanopoulos * Georgios Theotokis *
Charilaos Trikoupis Charilaos Trikoupis ( el, Χαρίλαος Τρικούπης; 11 July 1832 – 30 March 1896) was a Greek politician who served as a Prime Minister of Greece seven times from 1875 until 1895. He is best remembered for introducing the vote of c ...
* Spyridon Trikoupis *
Eleftherios Venizelos Eleftherios Kyriakou Venizelos ( el, Ελευθέριος Κυριάκου Βενιζέλος, translit=Elefthérios Kyriákou Venizélos, ; – 18 March 1936) was a Greek statesman and a prominent leader of the Greek national liberation move ...
* Sofoklis Venizelos *
Nikos Zachariadis Nikos Zachariadis ( el, Νίκος Ζαχαριάδης; 27 April 1903 – 1 August 1973) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) from 1931 to 1956, and one of the most important personalities in the Greek Civil War. Ear ...
* Alexandros Zaimis


Current

* Dimitris Avramopoulos (former Mayor of Athens) * Dora Bakoyannis (former Mayor of Athens) *
Kostas Bakoyannis Kostas Bakoyannis ( el, Κώστας Μπακογιάννης; born 16 March 1978) is a Greek politician. Having served as mayor of the town of Karpenisi, he was popularly elected Regional governor of Central Greece in the 2014 local elections ...
(Mayor of Athens since 2019) *
Stavros Dimas Stavros Dimas ( el, Σταύρος Δήμας, ; born 30 April 1941) is a Greek politician who was European Commissioner for the Environment from 2004 to 2009. From November 2011 to May 2012, he served in the government of Greece as Minister fo ...
(former European Commissioner for the Environment and Secretary of the State) * Maria Damanaki (former Leader of SYN) *
Nikos Dendias Nikolaos "Nikos" Dendias ( el, Νικόλαος Δένδιας; born 7 October 1959) is a Greek lawyer and politician of the conservative New Democracy party. He is a Member of the Hellenic Parliament for Athens, and was Minister for National ...
(Secretary of the State) *
Anna Diamantopoulou Anna Diamantopoulou ( el, Άννα Διαμαντοπούλου; born 26 February 1959 in Kozani, Greece)Pavlos Geroulanos Pavlos Geroulanos ( el, Παύλος Γερουλάνος, born in 1966 in Athens, Greece) is a Greek politician for the Panhellenic Socialist Movement. He served as the Minister for Culture and Tourism of Greece from 2009 until 2012. Life Pa ...
(former Secretary of Culture and Tourism) *
Kostis Hatzidakis Konstantinos (Kostis) Hatzidakis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος (Κωστής) Χατζηδάκης; born 20 April 1965 in Rethymno) is a Greek politician of New Democracy who has been serving as the Minister for Labor and Social Affairs in the ...
(Secretary of the Labor and Social Affairs) *
Kostas Karamanlis Konstantinos A. Karamanlis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Αλεξάνδρου Καραμανλής; born 14 September 1956), commonly known as Kostas Karamanlis ( el, Κώστας Καραμανλής, ), is a Greek politician who served as the ...
(former Prime Minister) * Nikos Kotzias (former Secretary of the State) * Dimitris Koutsoumpas (General Secretary of Communist Party of Greece) *
Fotis Kouvelis Fotis-Fanourios Kouvelis ( el, Φώτης-Φανούριος Κουβέλης; born 3 September 1948) is a Greek lawyer and leftist politician. Biography Kouvelis was born in Volos. He studied law and political science at the University of Athe ...
(former Leader of DIMAR) *
Stefanos Manos Stefanos Manos ( el, Στέφανος Μάνος; born 1939) is a Greek politician, former member of the Hellenic Parliament, and a former government minister. Career His political career started in the New Democracy party, for which he became ...
(former Secretary of the Treasury) *
Kyriakos Mitsotakis Kyriakos Mitsotakis ( el, Κυριάκος Μητσοτάκης, ; born 4 March 1968) is a Greek politician serving as the prime minister of Greece since 8 July 2019. A member of the New Democracy, he has been its president since 2016. He pre ...
(Prime Minister) *
Dimitrios Papadimoulis Dimitrios Papadimoulis ( el, Δημήτρης Παπαδημούλης, Dimítris Papadimoúlis; born 21 March 1955) is a Greek politician and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) as a member of the European United Left-Nordic Green Left. O ...
(Vice-President of the European Parliament) * George Papandreou (former Prime Minister and Leader of Socialist International) *
Giannis Ragousis Giannis Ragousis (; born 11 December 1965) is a Greek economist and politician of SYRIZA who had previously served in the government of Panhellenic Socialist Movement. Education Giannis Ragousis graduated from the Department of Financial Studi ...
(Former Secretary of the Interior) *
Katerina Sakellaropoulou Katerina Sakellaropoulou ( el, Κατερίνα Σακελλαροπούλου, Latn, el, Katerína Sakellaropoúlou, ; born 30 May 1956) is a Greek judge who has been the president of Greece since 13 March 2020. She was elected by the Hellenic ...
(President of the Hellenic Republic) * Antonis Samaras (former Prime Minister) *
Alexis Tsipras Alexis Tsipras ( el, Αλέξης Τσίπρας, ; born 28 July 1974) is a Greek politician serving as Leader of the Official Opposition since 2019. He served as Prime Minister of Greece from 2015 to 2019. Tsipras has led the Coalition of th ...
(former Prime Minister) *
Euclid Tsakalotos Euclid Stefanou Tsakalotos ( el, Ευκλείδης Στεφάνου Τσακαλώτος, ; born 1960) is a Greek economist and politician who was Minister of Finance of Greece from 2015 to 2019. He is also a member of the Central Committee of ...
(former Secretary of the Treasury) *
Stavros Theodorakis Stavros Theodorakis ( ; born 1963) is a Greek journalist and politician, who founded and led the social liberal party ''To Potami'' (''The River''). In the January 2015 election he was elected to the Hellenic parliament, with his party receivin ...
(former Leader of To Potami) *
Yanis Varoufakis Ioannis "Yanis" Varoufakis ( el, Ιωάννης Γεωργίου "Γιάνης" Βαρουφάκης, Ioánnis Georgíou "Giánis" Varoufákis, ; born 24 March 1961) is a Greek economist and politician. A former academic, he served as the Gree ...
(Former Secretary of the Treasury) *
Kyriakos Velopoulos Kyriakos Velopoulos ( el, Κυριάκος Ιωσήφ Βελόπουλος; born 24 October 1965) is a Greek politician and Hellenic Parliament member and Greek Solution party leader, as well as television personality and author. Early life and ...
(leader of Greek Solution) * Evangelos Venizelos (former Secretary of National Defense)


Political issues


Education

Under the Greek constitution,Article 16 of the Constitution of Greece
education is the responsibility of the state. Most Greeks attend public primary and secondary schools. There are a few private schools, which must meet the standard curriculum of and are supervised by the Ministry of Education. The Ministry of Education oversees and directs every aspect of the public education process at all levels, including hiring all teachers and professors and producing all required textbooks.


Non-state owned universities

A recent issue concerning education in Greece is the institutionalisation of private universities. According to the constitution
Section 5: "Education at university level shall be provided exclusively by institutions which are fully self-governed public law legal persons".
only state-run universities operate on the land. However, in recent years many foreign private universities have established branches in Greece, offering
bachelor's A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to si ...
level degrees, thus creating a legal contradiction between the Greek constitution and the EU laws allowing foreign companies to operate anywhere in the Union. Additionally, every year, tens of thousands of Greek students are not accepted to the state-run University system and become "educational immigrants" to other countries' Higher Education institutions, where they move to study. This has created a chronic problem for Greece, in terms of loss of capital as well as human resources, since many of those students opt to seek employment in the countries they studied, after completing their studies. It is characteristic that in 2006, Greece, with 11.5 million inhabitants, was fourth in the world in terms of student export in absolute numbers, with 60,000 students abroad, while the first country in this regard, People's Republic of China of over 1.3 billion inhabitants, had 100,000 students abroad. In terms of students abroad as a percent of the general population, Greece is by far the leading country, with 5,250 students per million, compared to second Malaysia's 1,780 students per million inhabitants. Citing these problems as a result of the state's monopoly on Higher Education, New Democracy (ND) committed to amending the constitution, to allow private universities to operate in Greece on a non-profit basis. This proposal was rejected by then-ruling
Panhellenic Socialist Movement The Panhellenic Socialist Movement ( el, Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα, Panellínio Sosialistikó Kínima, ), known mostly by its acronym PASOK, (; , ) is a social-democratic political party in Greece. Until 2012, it ...
(PASOK) in the late nineties, and thus could not muster the support necessary to be put to vote on the constitutional amendment of 2001. However, PASOK has since changed its stance, and now also supports a constitutional provision for the creation of private Universities on a non-profit basis. This proposal continues to encounter the fierce opposition of the Left parties and part of the academic community, both professors and students. At the outset of 2006, prime minister
Kostas Karamanlis Konstantinos A. Karamanlis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Αλεξάνδρου Καραμανλής; born 14 September 1956), commonly known as Kostas Karamanlis ( el, Κώστας Καραμανλής, ), is a Greek politician who served as the ...
announced the initiative of his government for a new amendment of the
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...
. According to his assertion one of the main issues of this amendment (the second within less than 10 years) is going to be the creation of "non-state owned" universities.


Illegal immigration

Greece has problems with illegal immigration, especially from or via Turkey. Greek authorities believe that 90% of illegal immigrants in the EU enter through Greece, many fleeing because of unrest and poverty in the Middle East and Africa. Several European courts have held that Greece is not complying with minimum standards of treatment for asylum seekers, so that illegal migrants who reach other countries cannot be sent back to Greece. Numerous solutions have been proposed by the Greek government such as building a fence on the Turkish border and setting up detention camps.


Judicial system

One of the main problems of the system is the long-time process needed, even for a simple case, something that negatively impacts investment, entrepreneurship, social relations, corporate governance, and public governance. Also corruption cases have appeared during the last years, such as the ''
Paradikastiko The judicial system of Greece is the country's constitutionally established system of courts. Independence of the justice system In Greece, the Constitution has firmly established the independence of the justice system. However the selection of ...
'' organization scandal. Manipulation of the judicial system and its decisions by each government, is another common phenomenon which violates the independency of the system.


Prisons

There are three prison types in Greece: general, special, and therapeutic prisons. General prisons include three different types of inmates: type A, type B, and type C. Special prisons include rural units, juvenile institutions, and semi-liberty centers. One example of a special prison would be an agricultural prison. The last type is a therapeutic prison, which includes hospitals and rehab centers for inmates. Within these centers the percentage of female prisoners is 5.5%, which amounts to around 538 prisoners. The percentage of juveniles in Greek prison is 2.9%. Greece's occupancy rate in prisons is 99%, which means that its prisons are near full capacity. With some exceptions occupancy exceeds 100%, and in some establishments, it reaches, or surpasses, 300%. Because of this the Greek Justice Ministry and the European Council want to improve Greek prison conditions. These improvements include training for guards, improving of medical facilities, and better treatment of prisoners. These selected improvements are three human rights that the Greek correctional system would like to tackle.


Media

The Greek media, collectively, is a very influential institution – usually aggressive, sensationalist. As with many countries, most of the media are owned by businesses with commercial interests in other sectors of the economy. There are often accusations of newspapers, magazines, and radio and television channels being used to promote their commercial enterprises as well as to seek political influence. In 1994, the Ministry of Press and Media was established to deal with media and communication issues. ERT S.A., a public corporation supervised by the Minister of Press, operates three national television channels and five national radio channels. The Minister of Press also serves as the primary government spokesperson. The Secretary General of Press and Information prepares the semi-official Athens News Agency (ANA) Bulletin. Along with AP and
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was est ...
, this is a primary source of information for the Greek press. The Ministry of Press and Information also issues the semi-official Macedonian News Agency (MPE) Bulletin, which is distributed throughout the Balkan region. For international news, CNN is a particular influence in the Greek market; the major television channels often use it as a source. State and private television stations also use
Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pri ...
and Visnews as sources. While few papers and stations have overseas correspondents, those few correspondents abroad can be very influential. In 1988, a new law provided the legal framework for the establishment of private radio stations and, in 1989, private television stations. According to the law, supervision of radio and television is exercised by the National Radio and Television Council. In practice, however, official licensing has been delayed for many years. Because of this, there has been a proliferation of private radio and television stations, as well as European satellite channels, including
Euronews Euronews (styled on-air in lowercase as euronews) is a European television news network, headquartered in Lyon, France. The network began broadcasting on 1 January 1993 and covers world news from a European perspective. The majority of Eurone ...
. More than 1,000 radio stations were operating before March 2002, when the government implemented plans to reallocate television frequencies and issue licenses as authorized by the 1993 Media Law, effectively reducing this number.


Media freedom

In 2011, the government proposed new measures that will restrict the freedom of speech in the internet. According to some proposals, every individual who would like to use free platforms, such like
Blogspot Blogger is an American online content management system founded in 1999 which enables multi-user blogs with time-stamped entries. Pyra Labs developed it before being acquired by Google in 2003. Google hosts the blogs, which can be accessed th ...
or
WordPress.com WordPress.com is a platform for self-publishing that is popular for blogging and other works. It is owned and operated by Automattic, Inc. It is run on a modified version of WordPress software. This website provides free blog hosting for regis ...
will be forced to get officially registered in the courts, as due to tough austerity measures web sites that criticize the government and the political system in general have been multiplied.
Press freedom Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic media, especially published materials, should be considered a right to be exerc ...
sharply eroded in Greece during the economic and financial crisis of 2008 – 2019, passing from the 35th place in 2009 in
Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...
Press Freedom Index to the 99th place in 2014, well below all Western Balkans countries as well as states with repressive media policies such as Gabon, Kuwait or Liberia.Thomas Van Der Heijden
Media landscape in Greece must reform quickly
, ''Euroscope'', 28 November 2014
Greece is today the EU member state "where journalism and the media face their most acute crisis".Petros Iosifidis and Dimitris Boucas
Media Policy and Independent Journalism in Greece
(PDF), ''
Open Society Foundations Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is a grantmaking network founded and chaired by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with a st ...
report'', 1 May 2015
In 2022, Greece ranked 27th in the EU and 108 out of 180 countries according to
Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...
.


=Petsas's List

= Cabinet of Kyriakos Mitsotakis allocated €19,832,132.94 to media and press. After pressure from the opposition, Stylianos Petsas, then government representative, published the list. Less than 1% of the 20 million euros of the campaign was given to the opposition press. According to OGG 475BB/27-10-2020, a Second "Petsas's List" was announced, this time exclusively on nationwide free-to-air stations. This was followed by the vaccination campaign, amounting to 18,500,000 euros and the Plevris List with total amounts of 4,960,000 euros.


Military service

Twelve months for all males of 18 years of age; Compulsory with fines and imprisonment if denied, but neither fine nor imprisonment has been imposed since 1994, where the last warrant against a draft-dodger was issued. Members of families with three children serve a reduced time of six months. Military service can also be substituted with a longer public service, which by the standards of Amnesty International, ought to be considered punitive as it is twice as long as the regular tour of duty. Limited steps have been taken to turn the Greek military into a semi- professional army in the last years, leading to the gradual reduction of the service from 18 to 12 to 9 months and the inclusion of a greater number of professional military personnel in most vertices of the force. Recent developments, though, within the anti-conscription movement in Greece, such as the high death rate from suicides during service and work-related accidents, such as the Manitsa incident, combined with a high rate of draft-dodging, have advanced the idea that mandatory conscription should be abolished and an all-professional/all-volunteer army should be put in place.


Military spending

Greece directs approximately 1.7% of its GDP to military expenditures, the 7th highest percentage in Europe.Military Spending – Rank Order, Military expenditure
(2012 figures)
In absolute numbers the Greek military budget ranked 28th in the world in 2005. By the same measure, Greek military budget ranked 6th in the Mediterranean basin (behind France, Italy, Turkey, Israel and Spain) and 2nd (behind Turkey) in its immediate vicinity, the
Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
.All rankings according to th
World ranking of military budgets
Greek arms purchasing is among the highest in the world: Greece ranked 3rd in the world in 2004.Article from in.gr (08/06/05)
(in Greek)
These figures are explained in the light of the
arms race An arms race occurs when two or more groups compete in military superiority. It consists of a competition between two or more states to have superior armed forces; a competition concerning production of weapons, the growth of a military, and ...
between Greece and Turkey with key issues being the
Cyprus dispute The Cyprus problem, also known as the Cyprus dispute, Cyprus issue, Cyprus question or Cyprus conflict, is an ongoing dispute between Greek Cypriots in the south and Turkish Cypriots in the north. Initially, with the occupation of the island ...
and disagreement over sovereignty of certain islets of the Aegean. For more information see Greco-Turkish relations. Conversely, the foreign relations of Greece as well as many internal policy decisions are largely affected by its arms purchases. The United States, being the major arms seller to Greece has been known to actively intervene in military spending decisions made by the Greek government.US Arms Clients Profiles – Greece
: "The Greek publication Elevtherotipia reported that former Ambassador Nicholas Burns had taken part in attempting to dissuade Greek officials from purchasing the Eurofighter in favor of a U.S. military aircraft."
The US has at times actively stepped in to help avoid large scale crisis, as in the case of the Imia-Kardak crisis. The reduction of military spending has long been an issue in Greek politics. The former prime minister,
Kostas Karamanlis Konstantinos A. Karamanlis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Αλεξάνδρου Καραμανλής; born 14 September 1956), commonly known as Kostas Karamanlis ( el, Κώστας Καραμανλής, ), is a Greek politician who served as the ...
had proposed a reduction to military spending through a "Defence Eurozone",Hellenic Radio (ERA): News in Greek, 03-09-13
/ref> referring to the European Security and Defence Policy. The previous PASOK administration, also planned on reducing military spendingAthens News Agency: Press Review in Greek, 01-11-15
/ref> prior to its failure to be re-elected in 2004, while PASOK politicians usually refer to money saved from reducing military spending as a "peace dividend" ("μέρισμα ειρήνης"). Some of the parties on the left, such as the
Communist Party of Greece The Communist Party of Greece ( el, Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας, ''Kommounistikó Kómma Elládas'', KKE) is a political party in Greece. Founded in 1918 as the Socialist Labour Party of Greece and adopted its curre ...
and
Synaspismos The Coalition of the Left, of Movements and Ecology ( el, Συνασπισμός της Αριστεράς των Κινημάτων και της Οικολογίας, ''Synaspismós tīs Aristerás tōn Kinīmátōn kai tīs Oikologías''), com ...
, have been vocal in condemning military spending. Regarding the purchase of 30
F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successf ...
and 333 Leopard tanks in 2005, both parties criticized the New Democracy administration for spending money on weapons while doing nothing to relieve the lower classes and said that high military spending "does not correspond to the real needs of the country but is carried out according to
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...
planning and to serve weapon manufacturers and the countries that host them".HR-NET index of BBC broadcasts in Greek, 05-07-19 News
/ref>


Church-state relations

The
Greek Orthodox Church The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...
is under the protection of the State, which pays the clergy's salaries, and
Orthodox Christianity Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Chu ...
is the "'prevailing" religion of Greece according to the Constitution. The Greek Orthodox Church is self-governing but under the spiritual guidance of the Ecumenical Patriarch in
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
. Freedom of religious beliefs is guaranteed by the Constitution, but "
proselytism Proselytism () is the policy of attempting to convert people's religious or political beliefs. Proselytism is illegal in some countries. Some draw distinctions between ''evangelism'' or '' Da‘wah'' and proselytism regarding proselytism as invol ...
" is officially illegal. According to the most recent Eurostat "Eurobarometer" poll, in 2005,Eurobarometer, http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_225_report_en.pdf 81% of Greek citizens responded that "they believe there is a God", whereas 16% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and only 3% that "they do not believe there is a God, spirit, nor life force". This would make Greece one of the most religious countries in the European Union of 25 members, after Malta and Cyprus. The Muslim minority, concentrated in
Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...
, was given legal status by provisions of the
Treaty of Lausanne (1923) The Treaty of Lausanne (french: Traité de Lausanne) was a peace treaty negotiated during the Lausanne Conference of 1922–23 and signed in the Palais de Rumine, Lausanne, Switzerland, on 24 July 1923. The treaty officially settled the confl ...
and is Greece's only officially recognized religious minority. There are small Roman Catholic communities on some of the
Cyclades The Cyclades (; el, Κυκλάδες, ) are an island group in the Aegean Sea, southeast of mainland Greece and a former administrative prefecture of Greece. They are one of the island groups which constitute the Aegean archipelago. The name ...
and the Ionian Islands, remnants of the long
Venetian Venetian often means from or related to: * Venice, a city in Italy * Veneto, a region of Italy * Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area Venetian and the like may also refer to: * Venetian language, a Romance language s ...
rule over the islands. The recent influx of (mostly illegal) immigrants from Eastern Europe and the Third World has an expectedly varied multi-religious profile (Roman Catholic, Muslim,
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
etc.). During the 2001 constitutional amendment, complete separation of church and state was proposed, but the two major parties, ND and PASOK, decided not to open this controversial matter, which clashes with both the population and the clergy. For example, numerous protests occurred over the removal of the Religious Denomination entry from the National ID card in 2000.


Since 2015

More left-wing
Syriza The Coalition of the Radical Left – Progressive Alliance ( el, Συνασπισμός Ριζοσπαστικής Αριστεράς – Προοδευτική Συμμαχία, Synaspismós Rizospastikís Aristerás – Proodeftikí Simachía), ...
overtook PASOK as the main party of the centre-left.
Alexis Tsipras Alexis Tsipras ( el, Αλέξης Τσίπρας, ; born 28 July 1974) is a Greek politician serving as Leader of the Official Opposition since 2019. He served as Prime Minister of Greece from 2015 to 2019. Tsipras has led the Coalition of th ...
led Syriza to victory in the general election held on 25 January 2015, falling short of an outright majority in Parliament by just two seats. Syriza gained support by opposing the austerity policy that had affected Greeks since the beginning of the
Greek government-debt crisis Greece faced a sovereign debt crisis in the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2007–2008. Widely known in the country as The Crisis ( Greek: Η Κρίση), it reached the populace as a series of sudden reforms and austerity measures that ...
. The following morning, Tsipras reached an agreement with
Independent Greeks The Independent Greeks - National Patriotic Alliance ( el, Ανεξάρτητοι Έλληνες (ΑΝΕΛ), ''Anexartitoi Ellines'', ANEL) is a national-conservative political party in Greece. The party was the junior coalition partner to the ...
party to form a coalition, and he was sworn in as Prime Minister of Greece. Tsipras called snap elections in August 2015, resigning from his post, which led to a month-long caretaker administration headed by judge
Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou Vasiliki Thanou-Christophilou ( el, Βασιλική Θάνου-Χριστοφίλου, ; born 3 November 1950), also known as just Vasiliki Thanou, is a Greek judge who served as caretaker Prime Minister of Greece from 27 August to 21 September 2 ...
, Greece's first female prime minister. In the September 2015 general election, Alexis Tsipras led Syriza to another victory, winning 145 out of 300 seats and re-forming the coalition with the Independent Greeks. However, he was defeated in the July 2019 general election by
Kyriakos Mitsotakis Kyriakos Mitsotakis ( el, Κυριάκος Μητσοτάκης, ; born 4 March 1968) is a Greek politician serving as the prime minister of Greece since 8 July 2019. A member of the New Democracy, he has been its president since 2016. He pre ...
who leads New Democracy. On 7 July 2019, Kyriakos Mitsotakis was sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Greece. He formed a centre-right government after the landslide victory of his New Democracy party. In March 2020, Greece's parliament elected a non-partisan candidate, Ekaterini Sakellaropoulou, as the first female
President of Greece The president of Greece, officially the President of the Hellenic Republic ( el, Πρόεδρος της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας, Próedros tis Ellinikís Dimokratías), commonly referred to in Greek as the President of the Rep ...
.


Notes


External links


Greek Politics Specialist Group (GPSG) of the UK's Political Studies Association


via the Greek Ministry of Internal Affairs
ekloges.gr
Greek elections
Official website of the Prime Minister of Greece

Greece the first country in the globe in terms of student export

Greek politics community forumsGreece and eurozone in crisis
dossier by Radio France Internationale in English June 2010 {{Authority control