President of Greece
Head of state
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Powers
The president is the nominal commander-in-chief of the Greek Armed Forces and occupies the first place in the country's order of precedence. Although the Greek Constitution of 1974 vested the presidency with considerable powers on paper, in practice presidents took a largely ceremonial role; the prime minister of Greece is the active chief executive of the Greek government and the country's leading political figure. The president's role was formally brought into line with practice by the 1986 constitutional amendment, which reduced the official powers.
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Election
According to Article 32 of the Greek Constitution, the president is elected for a five-year term by the Hellenic Parliament in a special session at least a month before the incumbent's term expires. Voting takes place in up to five ballots, separated by no more than five days.
The first and second ballots require a supermajority of 200 out of the 300-person body, dropping to 180 on the third. The fourth ballot requires a simple majority of 151 votes. The fifth and last ballot is then decided by a relative majority.
Oath of office
Before taking office, the president must recite an oath in front of the Parliament according to the Article 33, paragraph 2 of the Greek Constitution:
I swear in the name of the Holy, Consubstantial and Indivisible Trinity to safeguard the Constitution and the laws, to ensure their faithful observance, to defend the national independence and territorial integrity of the Country, to protect the rights and liberties of the Greeks and to serve the general interest and the progress of the Greek People.
Succession
According to the Constitution of Greece, in the event of a temporary absence of the president of Greece on account of illness, travel abroad or similar circumstances, the speaker of the parliament serves as acting president, and exercises the powers of the state president until the president resumes their functions, and in the event that the presidency falls vacant as a result of death or resignation or for any other reason, until the election of a new president. The most recent person to have served as Acting President was Ioannis Alevras, following the resignation of Konstantinos Karamanlis due to the constitutional crisis in 1985.
Official residence
The official residence of the president of Greece is the Presidential Mansion, formerly the New Royal Palace, in central Athens.
History
The current Third Hellenic Republic (Greek: Γʹ Ελληνική Δημοκρατία) was established in 1974 during the period of metapolitefsi, after the end of the Greek junta which had controlled Greece since the coup d'état of 21 April 1967.
On 1 June 1973 the then leader of the military junta and regent for the exiled King Constantine II, Georgios Papadopoulos, abolished the Greek monarchy and proclaimed himself President of the Republic. A staged referendum on 29 July 1973 confirmed the regime change, and passed a new constitution which established a presidential republic. This attempt at controlled democratization was ended by Brigadier Dimitrios Ioannidis' overthrow of Papadopoulos on 25 November 1973. The republic and its symbols (but not the semi-presidential system) were formally maintained, but they were nothing more than a façade for the military regime. Lt. General Phaedon Gizikis was appointed President of the Republic, but power was in the hands of Ioannidis, who ruled behind the scenes.
After the fall of the junta and the return to civilian rule under Konstantinos Karamanlis in August 1974, the constitutional acts of the military regime were deemed invalid, and a new referendum was held on 8 December 1974, which confirmed the abolition of the monarchy. In the interim, Gizikis, remained in office as President. After the plebiscite, he was succeeded by the first elected president, Michail Stasinopoulos.
A new constitution, promulgated on 11 June 1975, declared Greece a presidential parliamentary democracy (or republic – the Greek δημοκρατία can be translated both ways). The first constitutional amendments were proposed by Andreas Papandreou in 1985, though dubious procedures triggering a constitutional crisis, and they reduced the presidential powers, which were acting as checks and balances against the powerful position of the prime minister. The constitution was further revised in 2001, 2008, and 2019, and is still in force today.