List of heads of state of Greece

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First Greek Republic

After the start of the Greek War of Independence , Ioannis Kapodistrias became head of state of independent Greece in 1828. After his assassination in 1831, his brother Augustinos Kapodistrias took over the office for a few months before changing committees exercised power.

Governors
Surname Start of office End of office
Ioannis Kapodistrias January 24, 1828 October 9, 1831
Augustinos Kapodistrias October 9, 1831 April 9, 1832
Government committees April 9, 1832 February 6, 1833

First Kingdom of Greece

Wittelsbach House

With the end of the war of liberation, the Greek parliament appointed Prince Otto, the son of the Bavarian King Ludwig I of Bavaria , as the new king of Greece in 1833 . In 1862 Otto I was overthrown by an uprising and the Wittelsbach family was deposed.

Kings
Surname Beginning of the reign End of the reign
Otto I. February 6, 1833 October 23, 1862
Regency Council October 23, 1862 March 30, 1863

House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg

In 1863 Prince Wilhelm of Denmark was raised to the rank of King George I. He held office for almost 50 years, longer than any Greek head of state before or after him. He was followed by his son Constantine I, who had to flee the country in 1917 after a conflict with the anti-monarchist Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos . His son and successor Alexander died in 1920, after which Constantine was reinstated in a referendum. But this was driven out again in 1922 by a soldiers' uprising and replaced by his eldest son Georg II. In 1924 the republic was proclaimed and George II had to leave the country.

Kings
Surname Beginning of the reign End of the reign relationship
George I. March 30, 1863 March 18, 1913
Constantine I. March 18, 1913 June 11, 1917 Son of King George I.
Alexander I. June 11, 1917 October 25, 1920 Son of King Constantine I.
Pavlos Koundouriotis (Regent) October 28, 1920 17th November 1920
Olga Romanowa (regent) 17th November 1920 December 19, 1920 Wife of King George I.
Constantine I. December 19, 1920 September 27, 1922
George II September 27, 1922 March 25, 1924 Son of King Constantine I.

Second Greek Republic

After the founding of the republic, Admiral Pavlos Koundouriotis took over the new office of President. After only a year, a military coup led by General Theodoros Panglos overthrew the government. This regime was only overturned by the military for a few months and replaced by Koundouriotis . He resigned in 1929 for health reasons and handed over the office to Alexandros Zaimis . Another coup in 1935 eliminated the republic and replaced it with the monarchy.

President
Surname Start of office End of office
Pavlos Koundouriotis March 25, 1924 March 15, 1926
Theodoros Pangalos March 15, 1926 August 22, 1926
Pavlos Koundouriotis August 24, 1926 December 9, 1929
Alexandros Zaimis December 10, 1929 October 10, 1935

Second Kingdom of Greece

House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg

In 1935, the former King George II was reinstated as monarch. However, as early as 1936, Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas exercised power as dictator. In 1941 German, Bulgarian and Italian troops invaded the country and occupied it until 1944. King George II was in exile until 1946, with the archbishop of Athens, Damascinos Papandreou, exercising the reign between the end of the occupation and the return of the king.
After the death of George II, his brother Paul took over the throne. When Paul died in 1964, his son Constantine II became the new monarch. A military junta took power in the 1967 military coup. Constantine II retained his office, but had to leave the country. In 1973 the monarchy was abolished and Constantine was deposed.

Kings
Surname Beginning of the reign End of the reign relationship
Georgios Kondylis (Regent) October 10, 1935 November 25, 1935
George II November 25, 1935 April 1, 1947 Son of King Constantine I.
Damaskinos Papandreou (Regent) December 31, 1944 September 27, 1946  
Paul I. April 1, 1947 March 6, 1964 Son of King Constantine I.
Constantine II March 6, 1964 June 1, 1973 Son of King Paul

Colonel regime

With the 1967 coup, power in Greece was transferred to a military junta. After the escape of King Konstantin Georgios Zoitakis, this set up as viceroy, with which he took over the position of head of state. In 1972 he was replaced by Prime Minister Georgios Papadopoulos , who had been the de facto ruler since 1967. With the introduction of the republic in 1973 Papadopoulos called himself president. A few months later he had to hand over the office to Phaidon Gizikis . This was overthrown with the end of the dictatorship in 1974.

Viceroys (until May 31, 1973); President
Surname Start of office End of office
Georgios Zoitakis December 13, 1967 March 21, 1972
Georgios Papadopoulos March 21, 1972 November 25, 1973
Phaidon Gizikis November 25, 1973 18th December 1974

Third Greek Republic

With the restoration of the republic, Greece is headed by an elected president.

President
Surname Start of office End of office
Mikhail Stasinopoulos 18th December 1974 June 19, 1975
Konstantinos Tsatsos June 20, 1975 May 15, 1980
Konstantinos Karamanlis May 15, 1980 March 10, 1985
Ioannis Alevras (acting) March 10, 1985 March 30, 1985
Christos Sartzetakis March 30, 1985 May 4th 1990
Konstantinos Karamanlis May 4th 1990 March 10, 1995
Konstantinos Stefanopoulos March 10, 1995 March 12, 2005
Karolos Papoulias March 12, 2005 March 13, 2015
Prokopis Pavlopoulos March 13, 2015 March 13, 2020
Katerina Sakellaropoulou March 13, 2020 officiating

See also

Commons : Presidents of Greece  - Collection of images, videos and audio files