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The 1975 constitution, which
describes Greece as a "presidential
parliamentary republic," includes
extensive specific guarantees of civil liberties and vests the powers
of the head of state in a president elected by parliament and advised by
the Council of the Republic. The Greek governmental structure is similar to that found in many Western democracies, and has been described as a compromise between the French and German models. The prime minister and cabinet play the central role in the political process, while the president performs some governmental
functions in addition to ceremonial duties.
The president is elected by parliament to a five-year term and can be reelected once. The president has the power to declare
war and to conclude agreements of peace, alliance, and participate in international organizations; upon the request of the
government a three-fifths parliamentary majority is required to ratify such actions, agreements, or treaties. The president also
can exercise certain emergency powers, which must be countersigned by the appropriate cabinet minister. Changes to the
constitution in 1986 limited the president's political powers. As a result, the president may not dissolve parliament, dismiss
the government, suspend certain articles of the constitution, or declare a state of siege. To call a referendum, he must obtain
approval from parliament.
Parliamentary deputies are elected by secret ballot for a maximum of four years, but elections can be called earlier. Greece
uses a complex reinforced proportional representation electoral system which discourages splinter parties and makes a
parliamentary majority possible even if the leading party falls short of a majority of the popular vote. A party must receive 3%
of the total national vote to qualify for parliamentary seats.
Greece is divided into 51 prefectures, each headed by
a prefect, who is elected by direct popular vote. There are also thirteen regional administrative districts (peripheries), each including a number of prefectures and headed
by a regional governor (periferiarch), appointed by the Minister of the Interior. In northern Greece and in greater Athens, three areas have an additional administrative position between the nomarch and
periferiarch. This official, known as the president of the prefectural local authorities or "super nomarch," is elected by direct
popular vote. Although municipalities and villages have elected officials, they do not have an adequate independent tax base and
must depend on the central government for a large part of their financial needs. Consequently they are subject to numerous
central government controls. This also leads to extremely low municipal taxes (usually around 0.2% or less).
The Government and Education, Religion, and the Media Education
Under the Greek constitution, education is the responsibility of the state. Most Greeks attend public primary and secondary
schools. There are a few private schools, which must meet the standard curriculum of and be supervised by the Ministry of
Education. The Ministry of Education oversees and directs every aspect of the public education process at all levels, including
hiring all teachers and professors and producing all required textbooks.
Religion
The Greek Orthodox Church is under the protection of
the state, which pays the clergy's salaries, and Orthodox
Christianity is the "prevailing" religion of Greece according to the constitution. The Greek Orthodox Church is
self-governing but under the spiritual guidance of the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople.
The Muslim minority, concentrated in Thrace, was given legal status by provisions of the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 and is Greece's only officially recognized religious minority.
Under the 2000 constitutional amendment complete separation of church and state is being
attempted, which clashes with both the population and the clergy. Numerous protestations have occurred for the removal of the
Religious Denomination entry from the National ID card.
Media
The Greek media, collectively, is a very influential institution —
usually aggressive, sensationalist, and frequently irresponsible with regard to content. Most of the media are owned by
businessmen with extensive commercial interests in other sectors of the economy. They use their newspapers, magazines, and radio
and TV channels to promote their commercial enterprises as well as to seek political influence.
In 1994, the Ministry of Press and Information was established to deal with media and communication issues. ERT S.A., a public
corporation supervised by the Minister of Press, operates three national television channels and five national radio channels.
The Minister of Press also serves as the primary government spokesperson.
The Secretary General of Press and Information prepares the Athens News Agency (ANA) Bulletin. Along with AP and Reuters, this is a
primary source of information for the Greek press. The Ministry of Press and Information also issues the Macedonian News Agency
(MPE) Bulletin, which is distributed throughout the Balkan region. For international news, CNN is a particular influence in the Greek market; the major TV channels often use it as a source. State and private TV
stations also use Eurovision and Visnews as sources. While few papers and stations
have overseas correspondents, those few correspondents abroad can be very influential.
In 1988, a new law provided the legal framework for the establishment of private radio stations and, as of 1989, private TV
stations. According to the law, supervision of radio and television is exercised by the National Radio and Television Council. In
practice, however, official licensing has been delayed for many years. Because of this, there has been a proliferation of private
radio and TV stations, as well as European satellite channels, including Euronews.
More than 1,000 radio stations were operating before March 2002, when the government implemented plans to reallocate TV
frequencies and issue licenses as authorized by the 1993 Media Law, effectively reducing this number.
CIA yearbook data
Country name
conventional long form: Hellenic Republic
conventional short form: Greece
local long form: Elliniki Dhimokratia
local short form: Hellas (H is silent) or Ella(TH)a (TH as in "THem")
former: Kingdom of Greece
Data code: GR
Government type
parliamentary republic; monarchy rejected by referendum 8 December 1974
Capital
Athens
Administrative divisions
51 prefectures (nomoi (OI pronounced "i", singular - nomos)and 1 autonomous region*; Ayion Oros* (Mount Athos), Aitolia kai Akarnania,
Akhaia, Argolis, Arkadhia, Arta, Attiki, Dhodhekanisos, Drama, Evritania, Evros, Evvoia, Florina, Fokis, Fthiotis, Grevena, Ilia, Imathia, Ioannina, Irakleion, Kardhitsa, Kastoria, Kavala, Kefallinia, Kerkyra, Khalkidhiki, Khania,
Khios, Kikladhes, Kilkis, Korinthia, Kozani, Lakonia, Larisa,
Lasithi, Lesvos, Levkas, Magnisia,
Messinia, Pella, Pieria, Preveza, Rethimni, Rodhopi, Samos,
Serrai, Thesprotia, Thessaloniki, Trikala, Voiotia, Xanthi, Zakinthos
Independence
1829 (from the Ottoman Empire)
National holidays
Independence Day, 25 March (1821) (proclamation of the war of independence)
"NO" Day (Ochi), 28 October (1940) (rejection of Italian ultimatum to surrender)
Constitution
11 June 1975; amended March 1986
Legal system
based on codified Roman law; judiciary divided into civil, criminal, and
administrative courts
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Military Service
18 months for all males of 18 years of age; Compulsory with fines and imprisonment if denied. Limited steps are being taken to
turn the Greek military into a semi-professional army along the lines of the US army. Military Service denial can also be
substituted by an extremely long public service.
Executive branch
needs to be updated to reflect election results!
Chief of state (as of 2003)
President Konstandinos (Kostis) Stephanopoulos (since
10 March 1995)
Head of government: Prime Minister Costas Caramanlis
(since March 10, 2004), see also: list of Prime Ministers of Greece
Cabinet
Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister
Elections
President elected by Parliament for a five-year term; election last held March 7,
2004; prime minister appointed by the president
Election results
Konstandinos STEPHANOPOULOS reelected president; percent of Parliament vote - 90%
Legislative branch
Unicameral Parliament or Vouli ton Ellinon (300 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year
terms)
Elections
The national elections of March 2004 brought the following results:
Party Percent Seats
ND 45.38% 165 (Conservative Party)
PASOK 40.57% 117 (Socialist Party of Greece)
KKE 5.88% 12 (Communist Party of Greece)
SYN 3.25% 6 (Coalition of Left and Progress)
LAOS 2.19% - (Extreme Right Wing Party)
DIKKI 1.79% - (Social Democrats)
EK 0.26% - (Centrist Social Democrats)
The previous national elections of April 2000 brought the following
results:
Party Percent Seats
PASOK 43.79% 158 (Socialist Party of Greece)
ND 42.74% 125 (Conservative Party)
KKE 5.52% 11 (Communist Party of Greece)
SYN 3.20% 6 (Coalition of Left and Progress)
DIKKI 2.69% - (Social Democrats)
EK 0.34% - (Centrist Social Democrats)
The previous national elections of September 1996 brought the following
results:
Party Percent Seats
PASOK 41.49% 162 (Socialist Party of Greece)
ND 38.12% 108 (Conservative Party)
KKE 5.61% 11 (Communist Party of Greece)
SYN 5.12% 10 (Coalition of Left and Progress)
DIKKI 4.43% 9 (Social Democrats)
POLAN 2.94% - (Centrist Right Wing Party)
EK 0.72% - (Centrist Social Democrats)
Judicial branch
Supreme Judicial Court, judges appointed for life by the president after consultation with a judicial council; Special Supreme
Tribunal, judges appointed for life by the president after consultation with a judicial council
Political parties and leaders
New Democracy or ND (conservative) [Konstantinos KARAMANLIS]; Panhellenic Socialist Movement or PASOK [Georgios A. PAPANDREOU]; Communist Party of Greece or KKE [Aleka PAPARIGA];
Coalition of the Left and
Progress (Synaspismos) [Nikolaos KONSTANTOPOULOS]; Democratic Social Movement or DIKKI [Dhimitrios
TSOVOLAS]; People's Orthodox Alarm or LAOS [Georgios KARATZAFERIS]; Liberal Party [Stephanos MANOS]; Political Spring [Antonis
SAMARAS]; Union of Centrists or Enosi Kentroon Vassilis Leventis;
Rainbow Coalition [Pavlos VOSKOPOULOS]
International organization participation
Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB,
EU, FAO, G- 6, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat,
Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNOMIG, UPU, WCO, WEU, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, Zangger Committee
Politicians of Greece
See also
External link
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