Greece operates as a presidential parliamentary republic, in accordance with its Constitution. The Prime Minister is the head of the government, while the legislative powers belong to the Hellenic Parliament. There are 300 members of Parliament, each elected for a four-year term. Like the United States, Greece has a judicial branch, which is separate from its legislative and executive branches. The Hellenic Parliament is located in the former royal palace, the first royal palace in modern Greece, on Syntagma Square in Athens.
Greece’s parliamentary system
Parliament acts as the legislative branch in Greece, with 300 members elected by proportional representation votes of its constituents. A party must have a national vote of at least 3 percent to elect members of Parliament. Greece’s system is a bit different and more complex than other parliamentary democracies like the UK.
The President of the Hellenic Republic
Parliament elects the president, who serves a five-year term. Greek law limits presidents to just two terms. Presidents can grant pardons and declare war, but a parliamentary majority is required to ratify these actions and most of the other actions carried out by the President of Greece. The formal title of the President of Greece is President of the Hellenic Republic.
Prokopios Pavlopoulos, commonly shortened to Prokopis, became President of Greece in 2015. Pavlopoulos, a lawyer and university professor, served as the country’s Minister of the Interior from 2004 to 2009. He was preceded by Karolos Papoulias in office.
In Greece, which has a parliamentary style of government, real power is held by the Prime Minister, who is the “face” of Greek politics. The president is the head of state, but his role is primarily symbolic.
Prime Minister of Greece
The prime minister is the head of the party with the most seats in Parliament. They serve as the chief executive of the government.
Alexis Tsipras, a socialist, is the Prime Minister of Greece. Tsipras had served as prime minister from January 2015 to August 2015, but resigned when his Syriza party lost its majority in the Greek Parliament. Tsipras called for an early election, which was held in September 2015. He regained the majority and was elected and sworn in as Prime Minister after his party formed a coalition government with the Independent Greeks party.
President of the Hellenic Parliament of Greece
After the Prime Minister, the Speaker of Parliament (formally called the Speaker of Parliament) is the most authoritative person in the government of Greece. The President steps in to serve as interim president if the president is incapacitated or is out of the country on official government business. If a president dies while in office, the President carries out the duties of that office until a new president is elected by Parliament.
Nikos Voutsis, a Greek politician who served as Minister of the Interior and Administrative Reconstruction in the First Cabinet of Alexis Tsipras, the Prime Minister, has been the Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament since October 2015.
