President of the Hellenic Republic


President of the Hellenic Republic


Standard of the President


Acting President Katerina Sakellaropoulou since March 13, 2020

Official seat	Athens
Term of office	5 years (re-election possible once)
Creation of office	18th December 1974
Last choice	January 22, 2020

website	www.presidency.gr

The President of the Hellenic Republic ( Greek Πρόεδρος της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας ) is the head of state of the southern European state of Greece . The current president is Katerina Sakellaropoulou .

Constitutional position

According to the Greek Constitution of 1975 , the President is the head of the state. It represents the state under international law and acts as the highest political arbitration body.

requirements

To be elected President of Greece, one must meet the following requirements:

have reached the age of 40 on election day at the latest,
have the right to vote and stand for election to the Greek Parliament,
have been citizens of Greece for at least five years,
Be the child of a Greek citizen (since a constitutional amendment of April 16, 2001, it is sufficient for one parent to be a Greek citizen).

Competencies

The President has the following powers and duties, among others:

He explained the war , concludes peace and alliance treaties, agreements on economic cooperation and participation in international organizations or unions and shares this with the necessary explanations to the Parliament, as far as the interest and security of the state permit

Parliament convenes once a year for an ordinary session and, whenever it deems it advisable, for an extraordinary session

dismisses the government at its request or if parliament has withdrawn its confidence

can dissolve parliament if two governments have either resigned or been rejected by parliament and if its composition does not ensure government stability

promulgates the laws passed by parliament within one month of their adoption

can, if decided by an absolute majority of members of parliament, call referendums on important national issues

can send messages to the people in exceptional circumstances with the consent of the Prime Minister

has the supreme command of the country's armed forces , which are directed by the government

awards ranks to members of the armed forces

appoints and dismisses civil servants

has the right, on a proposal from the Minister of Justice and after consultation with a majority of judges existing Council by the courts to issue penalties imposed to convert or reduce and reverse the effects of all kinds of fines and penalties were serving

has the right to pardon a convicted minister only with the consent of parliament

Government formation

The President appoints the Prime Minister and, on his proposal, appoints and dismisses the remaining members of the government and the deputy ministers.

The leader of the party that has an absolute majority of the seats in parliament is appointed prime minister . If neither party has an absolute majority, the president gives the chairman of the party with a relative majority an exploratory mandate to explore the possibility of forming a government that is trusted by parliament.

If the first exploratory mandate fails, the President issues an exploratory mandate to the chairman of the second largest party; if this attempt remains unsuccessful, he issues an exploratory mandate to the chairman of the third largest parliamentary party. Each exploratory assignment is valid for three days. If all exploratory missions are unsuccessful, the president summons all party leaders and strives to form a government made up of all parties represented in parliament to hold new elections . If such a government fails too, then he instructs the President of the Council of State or the Court of Cassation (Areopagus) or the Court of Auditors to form a government on the broadest possible basis to hold new elections and dissolves parliament .

If a party does not have a chairman or deputy, or if he has not been elected a deputy, the president gives the party nominated by the parliamentary group the mandate to form a government. The proposal to award the contract is made within three days after the President of Parliament or his deputy has informed the President of the strength of the parties in Parliament. This notification must be made each time such an order is placed. If different parties have the same number of parliamentary seats, preference will be given for exploratory missions to the party which received the most votes in the election. The older party with the same number of seats is preferred to a newly formed party that forms a parliamentary group according to the rules of procedure. In both cases, no more than four parties may be given exploratory assignments.

Parliament can be dissolved by the President if two governments have either resigned or been rejected by Parliament and if its composition does not ensure government stability. The elections are carried out by the government, which has the confidence of the parliament to be dissolved.

choice

The President is elected for a five-year term. Re-election is only permitted for a further term of office.

Any candidate who has been a Greek citizen for at least five years and is of Greek origin on the father's or mother's side, has reached the age of forty and has the right to vote in parliament can be elected.

The president is elected by parliament by secret ballot. The election takes place in a special session, which is convened by the President of Parliament at least one month before the end of the term of office of the incumbent President in accordance with the rules of procedure . If parliament is dissolved in any way at the time of the presidential election, the election will be postponed until the first meeting of the new parliament and will take place within 20 days at the latest. Elected is someone who has a majority of two thirds of the total number of MPs.

If the required two-thirds majority is not achieved, the vote will be repeated in a second ballot after five days. If no candidate is elected in the second voting round either, a third ballot takes place after another five days, in which only three fifths of the votes are required for a successful election. If the third round also fails, parliament will be dissolved within ten days and early elections will be held. The parliament that emerged from the new elections then immediately after its first meeting elects the president in a roll-call vote with a majority of three fifths of the deputies. If the required majority is not achieved here either, a second ballot will take place in five days, where only at least half of the votes are required for a successful election. If this vote also fails, a third round of voting will take place in five days, in which only the two candidates with the most votes will compete against each other. The candidate who receives the relative majority of the MP's votes is then considered elected .

If the procedure for electing the new president is not ended in a timely manner, as mentioned above, the president in office will continue to exercise his duties even after his term of office has ended until the new president is elected.

If the incumbent president resigns prematurely before the end of his regular term of office, then he cannot participate in the election due to his resignation.

Swearing in

The elected President must take the following oath before taking office in Parliament :

"Oρκίζομαι στο όνομα της Aγίας και Oμοούσιας και Aδιαίρετης Tριάδας να φυλάσσω το Σύνταγμα και τους νόμους, να μεριμνώ για την πιστή τους τήρηση, να υπερασπίζω την εθνική ανεξαρτησία και την ακεραιότητα της Xώρας, να προστατεύω τα δικαιώματα και τις ελευθερίες των Eλλήνων και να υπηρετώ το γενικό συμφέρον και την πρόοδο του Eλληνικού Λαού. "

“I swear in the name of the Holy, Equal and Indivisible Trinity to uphold the Constitution and the laws, to ensure their faithful observance, to defend the national independence and the integrity of the country, to protect the rights and freedoms of the Greeks and in general Interest of the Greek people to serve. "

stand-in

If the President is away for more than ten days, absent or resigned, deposed or prevented for other reasons, the President of Parliament or, if this does not exist, the President of the previous Parliament and, if the President refuses or does not exist, the government in their entirety.

While the President is deputizing, the provisions on the dissolution of Parliament are not in force, nor are the provisions on the dismissal of the government and the calling of a referendum.

If the inability of the President to carry out his duties continues for more than 30 days, Parliament must be convened, even if it is dissolved. The parliament then decides with a majority of three fifths of the total number of MPs whether a new election of the president is announced. The election cannot, however, be delayed for more than a total of six months since the start of the substitution due to incapacity.

immunity

The President is not responsible for actions taken in the performance of his office, except for high treason and for willful violation of the Constitution. For acts that do not affect the performance of his office, the prosecution will be postponed until the end of his term.

Indictment and impeachment

A motion to bring charges against the president can be made by at least a third of the members of parliament. The motion is considered accepted if at least two thirds of the MPs vote in favor.

If an application receives the necessary approval, legal proceedings are initiated against the President. With the initiation of the procedure, the President abstains from exercising his office and is represented accordingly (see section Representation). In the event of an acquittal by the court, he will resume work if his regular term of office has not expired.

List of Presidents of the Third Republic

#	Surname	Taking office	Resignation	Political party
1	Mikhail Stasinopoulos	18th December 1974	June 19, 1975	ND
2	Konstantinos Tsatsos	June 20, 1975	May 15, 1980	ND
3	Konstantinos Karamanlis	May 15, 1980	March 10, 1985	ND
-	Ioannis Alevras (acting)	March 10, 1985	March 30, 1985	PASOK
4th	Christos Sartzetakis	March 30, 1985	May 4th 1990	Non-party
(3)	Konstantinos Karamanlis	May 4th 1990	March 10, 1995	ND
5	Konstantinos Stefanopoulos	March 10, 1995	March 12, 2005	DIANA / Independent
6th	Karolos Papoulias	March 12, 2005	March 13, 2015	PASOK
7th	Prokopis Pavlopoulos	March 13, 2015	March 13, 2020	ND
8th	Katerina Sakellaropoulou	March 13, 2020	officiating	Non-party