Greece: Government#
| Country name | conventional long form: Hellenic Republic conventional short form: Greece local long form: Elliniki Dimokratia local short form: Ellas or Ellada former: Hellenic State, Kingdom of Greece etymology: the English name derives from the Roman (Latin) designation "Graecia," meaning "Land of the Greeks"; the Greeks call their country "Hellas" or "Ellada" |
|---|---|
| Government type | parliamentary republic |
| Capital | Athens
Athens
geographic coordinates: 37 59 N, 23 44 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
| Administrative divisions | 13 regions (perifereies, singular - perifereia) and 1 autonomous monastic state* (aftonomi monastiki politeia); Agion Oros* (Mount Athos), Anatoliki Makedonia kai Thraki (East Macedonia and Thrace), Attiki (Attica), Dytiki Ellada (West Greece), Dytiki Makedonia (West Macedonia), Ionia Nisia (Ionian Islands), Ipeiros (Epirus), Kentriki Makedonia (Central Macedonia), Kriti (Crete), Notio Aigaio (South Aegean), Peloponnisos (Peloponnese), Sterea Ellada (Central Greece), Thessalia (Thessaly), Voreio Aigaio (North Aegean) |
| Independence | 3 February 1830 (from the Ottoman Empire); note - 25 March 1821, outbreak of the national revolt against the Ottomans; 3 February 1830, signing of the London Protocol recognizing Greek independence by Great Britain, France, and Russia |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 25 March (1821) |
| Constitution | history: many previous; latest entered into force 11 June 1975 amendments: proposed by at least 50 members of Parliament and agreed by three-fifths majority vote in two separate ballots at least 30 days apart; passage requires absolute majority vote by the next elected Parliament; entry into force finalized through a "special parliamentary resolution"; articles on human rights and freedoms and the form of government cannot be amended; amended 1986, 2001, 2008 (2016) |
| Legal system | civil legal system based on Roman law |
| International law organization participation | accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction |
| Citizenship | citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Greece dual citizenship recognized: yes residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Prokopios (Prokopis) PAVLOPOULOS (since 13 March 2015) head of government: Prime Minister Alexios TSIPRAS (since 21 September 2015); note - Vasiliki THANOU-CHRISTOFILOU served as interim prime minister beginning on 27 August 2015 after the resignation of Alexios TSIPRAS on 20 August 2015; she was Greece's first female prime minister cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections/appointments: president elected by Hellenic Parliament for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 18 February 2015 (next to be held by February 2020); president appoints as prime minister the leader of the majority party or coalition in the Hellenic Parliament election results: Prokopios PAVLOPOULOS (ND) elected president by Parliament - 233 of 300 votes |
| Legislative branch | description: unicameral Hellenic Parliament or Vouli ton Ellinon (300 seats; 288 members directly elected in single- and multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote and 12 seats are filled from nationwide party lists; 50 seats allocated to the party with the highest total valid vote count and remaining seats are apportioned according to each party's or coalition's vote percentage; members serve up to 4 years) elections: last held on 20 September 2015 (next to be held by 2019); note - snap elections were called because of upheaval in the governing SYRIZA party over a new bailout deal with international creditors election results: percent of vote by party - SYRIZA 35.5%, ND 28.1%, Golden Dawn 7.0%, PASOK-DIMAR 6.3%, KKE 5.6%, To Potami (The River) 4.1%, ANEL 3.7%, EK 3.4%, other 6.3%; seats by party - SYRIZA 145, ND 75, Golden Dawn 18, PASOK-DIMAR 17, KKE 15, To Potami 11, ANEL 10, EK 9; note - only parties surpassing a 3% threshold are entitled to parliamentary seats; parties need 10 seats to become formal parliamentary groups but can retain that status if the party participated in the last election and received the minimum 3% threshold |
| Judicial branch | highest court(s): Areios Pagos, the Supreme Civil and Criminal Court (consists of 56 judges); Council of State (supreme administrative court); Court of Auditors judge selection and term of office: judges selected by the Supreme Judicial Council, which includes the president of the Supreme Court, other judges, and the prosecutor of the Supreme Court; judges appointed for life following a 2-year probationary period subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal and Courts of First Instance(district courts) |
| Political parties and leaders | Anticapitalist Left Cooperation for the Overthrow or ANTARSYA (collective leadership) Coalition of the Radical Left or SYRIZA (Alexios (Alexis) TSIPRAS) Communist Party of Greece or KKE (Dimitrios KOUTSOUMBAS) Democratic Left or DIMAR (Athanasios (Thanasis) THEOCHAROPOULOS) Independent Greeks or ANEL (Panagiotis (Panos) KAMMENOS) Movement of Democratic Socialists or KIDISO (Georgios PAPANDREOU) New Democracy or ND (Kyriakos MITSOTAKIS) Panhellenic Socialist Movement or PASOK (Foteini (Fofi) GENIMMATA) People's Association-Golden Dawn (Nikolaos MICHALOLIAKOS) Popular Unity (Panagiotis LAFAZANIS) To Potami (The River) (Stavros THEODORAKIS) Union of Centrists or EK (Vasilis LEVENTIS) |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | Supreme Administration of Civil Servants Unions or ADEDY (Spyros PAPASPYROS) Federation of Greek Industries or SEV (Dimitris DASKALOPOULOS) General Confederation of Greek Workers or GSEE (Ioannis PANAGOPOULOS) |
| International organization participation | Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CD, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Theocharis LALAKOS (since 27 June 2016) chancery: 2217 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (1) (202) 939-1300 FAX: (1) (202) 939-1324 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Tampa (FL), San Francisco consulate(s): Atlanta, Houston |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Geoffrey R. PYATT (since 24 October 2016) embassy: 91 Vasillisis Sophias Avenue, 10160 Athens mailing address: PSC 108, APO AE 09842-0108 telephone: (30) (210) 721-2951 FAX: (30) (210) 645-6282 consulate(s) general: Thessaloniki (2012) |
| Flag description | nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with white; a blue square bearing a white cross appears in the upper hoist-side corner; the cross symbolizes Greek Orthodoxy, the established religion of the country; there is no agreed upon meaning for the nine stripes or for the colors; the exact shade of blue has never been set by law and has varied from a light to a dark blue over time |
| National symbol(s) | Greek cross (white cross on blue field, arms equal length); national colors: blue, white |
| National anthem | name: "Ymnos eis tin Eleftherian" (Hymn to Liberty) lyrics/music: Dionysios SOLOMOS/Nikolaos MANTZAROS note: adopted 1864; the anthem is based on a 158-stanza poem by the same name, which was inspired by the Greek Revolution of 1821 against the Ottomans (only the first two stanzas are used); Cyprus also uses "Hymn to Liberty" as its anthem |