Greece Government

What is the capital of Greece?

Country Name	Greece
Full Country Name	Hellenic Republic
Local - Long	Elliniki Dimokratia
Local - Short	Ellas or Ellada
Former Name	Hellenic State, Kingdom of Greece
Etymology- history of name	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 Name	Athens
Capital - geographic coordinate	37 59 N, 23 44 E
Capital Time Difference	UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Daylight Savings Time	+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
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, 2019

Greece Capital City Map

Source: Google Maps

Greece Government and Politics

Who is the president of Greece?

Executive Branch:	chief of state: President Ekaterini SAKELLAROPOULOU (since 13 March 2020) head of government: Prime Minister Kyriakos MITSOTAKIS (since 26 June 2023) 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 22 January 2020 (next to be held by February 2025); president appoints as prime minister the leader of the majority party or coalition in the Hellenic Parliament election results: 2020: Katerina SAKELLAROPOULOU (independent) elected president by Parliament - 261 of 300 votes; note - SAKELLAROPOULOU is Greece's first woman president 2015: Prokopis PAVLOPOULOS (ND) elected president by Parliament - 233 of 300 votes
Citizenship Criteria:	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
Legal System:	civil legal system based on Roman law
Suffrage:	17 years of age; universal and compulsory
Legislative Branch:	description: unicameral Hellenic Parliament or Vouli ton Ellinon (300 seats; 280 members in multi-seat and single-seat constituencies and 15 members - including 3 seats for Greek diaspora - in a single nationwide constituency directly elected by open party-list proportional representation vote; members serve up to 4 years); 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 elections: last held on 25 June 2023 (next to be held in 2027) election results: percent of vote by party - ND 40.6%, SYRIZA-PS 17.8%, PASOK-KINAL 11.9%, KKE 7.7%, Spartans 4.6%, Greek Solution 4.4%, NIKI 3.7%, Course of Freedom 3.2%, other 6.1%; seats by party - ND 158, SYRIZA-PS 48, PASOK-KINAL 32, KKE 20, Spartans 12, Greek Solution 12, NIKI 10, Course of Freedom 8; composition - men NA, women NA, percent of women NA%
Judicial Branch:	highest court(s): Supreme Civil and Criminal Court or Areios Pagos (consists of 56 judges, including the court presidents); Council of State (supreme administrative court) (consists of the president, 7 vice presidents, 42 privy councilors, 48 associate councilors and 50 reporting judges, organized into six 5- and 7-member chambers; Court of Audit (government audit and enforcement) consists of the president, 5 vice presidents, 20 councilors, and 90 associate and reporting judges judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges appointed by presidential decree on the advice of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), 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; Council of State president appointed by the Greek Cabinet to serve a 4-year term; other judge appointments and tenure NA; Court of Audit president appointed by decree of the president of the republic on the advice of the SJC; court president serves a 4-year term or until age 67; tenure of vice presidents, councilors, and judges NA subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal and Courts of First Instance (district courts)
Regions or States:	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)
Political Parties and Leaders:	Coalition of the Radical Left-Progressive Alliance or SYRIZA-PS [Stefanos KASSELAKIS] Communist Party of Greece or KKE [Dimitrios KOUTSOUMBAS] Course of Freedom [Zoe KONSTANTOPOULOU] Democratic Patriotic Movement-Victory or NIKI [Dimitris NATSIOS] Greek Solution [Kyriakos VELOPOULOS] New Democracy or ND [Kyriakos MITSOTAKIS] PASOK - Movement for Change or PASOK-KINAL [Nikolaos (Nikos) ANDROULAKIS] Spartans [Vassilis STIGAS]
International Law Organization Participation:	accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
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, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic Representation in the US:	chief of mission: Ambassador Ekaterini NASSIKA (since 27 February 2024) chancery: 2217 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-1300 FAX: [1] (202) 939-1324 email address and website: gremb.was@mfa.gr https://www.mfa.gr/usa/en/the-embassy/ consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Tampa (FL), San Francisco consulate(s): Atlanta, Houston
Diplomatic Representation from US:	chief of mission: Ambassador George James TSUNIS (since 10 May 2022) embassy: 91 Vasillisis Sophias Avenue, 10160 Athens mailing address: 7100 Athens Place, Washington DC 20521-7100 telephone: [30] (210) 721-2951 FAX: [30] (210) 724-5313 email address and website: athensamericancitizenservices@state.gov https://gr.usembassy.gov/ consulate(s) general: Thessaloniki

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