Alexis Tsipras

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Alexis Tsipras

MP

Prime Minister of Greece

Incumbent

Assumed office
26 January 2015

President

Karolos Papoulias
Prokopis Pavlopoulos

Deputy

Yannis Dragasakis

Preceded by

Antonis Samaras

Leader of the Opposition

In office
20 June 2012 26 January 2015

Prime Minister

Antonis Samaras

Preceded by

Antonis Samaras

Succeeded by

Antonis Samaras

Leader of Syriza

Incumbent

Assumed office
4 October 2009

Preceded by

Alekos Alavanos

Member of the Hellenic Parliament fromAthens A

Incumbent

Assumed office
4 October 2009

Personal details

Born

July 28, 1974 (age 40)

Athens, Greece

Nationality

Greek

Political party

Syriza

Domestic partner

Peristera Batziana

Children

Alma mater

National Technical University

Religion

None

Alexis Tsipras (Greek: [aleksis tsipras], phonetically: [.lee .kssiss ttsi.prss]; born 28
July 1974)[1] is a Greekpolitician, Prime Minister of Greece since 26 January 2015 and leader of the
left-wing Syriza party since 2009.[2][3] He was first elected to the Greek Parliament in 2009, and was
the Party of the European Left nominee for President of the European Commissionin the 2014
European Parliament election. On 25 January 2015, Tsipras led Syriza to victory in a snap general
election, receiving 36% of the vote and 149 out of the 300 seats in the Parliament and went on to
become the 186th Prime Minister of Greece. In 2015 he was voted by TIME magazine as one of
the 100 most influential people globally.[4]
Contents
[hide]

1 Early life and career

2 Political career

3 Prime Minister of Greece

o

3.1 Bailout referendum

3.2 Bailout Agreement

4 Personal life

5 See also

6 References

7 External links

Early life and career[edit]

Tsipras in 2013

Tsipras was born 28 July 1974 in Athens. His family has its roots in a village near Babaeski in an
area of Eastern Thrace which was transferred from Greece to Turkey during the 1923 population
exchange between Greece and Turkey.[5] His father was born inEpirus.[6][7] His mother was born
in Eleftheroupoli.[8]
Tsipras joined the Communist Youth of Greece in the late 1980s. In the early 1990s, as a student
at Ampelokipoi Multi-disciplinary High School, he was politically active in the student uprising against
the controversial law of Education Minister Vasilis Kontogiannopoulos. He rose to prominence as a
representative of the student movement when he was featured as a guest on a television show
hosted by journalist Anna Panagiotarea. During the interview, Panagiotarea implied that Tsipras was
being disingenuous in defending middle and high school students' right to absenteeism without
parental notification in the context of protests.[9]
Tsipras studied civil engineering at the National Technical University of Athens, graduating in 2000,
before undertaking postgraduate studies in Urban and Regional Planning following an interdepartmental MPhil at the School of Architecture of NTUA. Alongside his postgraduate studies, he
began working as a civil engineer in the construction industry. He wrote several studies and projects
on the theme of the city of Athens.[9][10][11]
As a university student, Tsipras joined the ranks of the renascent left-wing movement, particularly
the "Enceladus" (Greek:) group, and as member of it was elected to the executive board
of the students' union of the Civil Engineering School ofNTUA, and also served as student
representative on the University Senate. From 1995 to 1997 he was an elected member of the
Central Council of the National Students Union of Greece (EFEE). [9]

Political career[edit]
After the departure of the Communist Party of Greece from Synaspismos in 1991, Tsipras remained
in the coalition. In May 1999 he became the first political secretary of Synaspismos' youth-wing,
the Synaspismos Youth. During this period he was described as a centrist, other than the very clear
radical, left-wing profile he would later maintain as leader of Synaspismos. In November 2003 he
was succeeded by Tasos Koronakis and moved on to the mother party. He managed quite efficiently
to maintain a strong adherence to the policy of the party, effectively outvoicing political deviants to

the left and the right. As secretary of Synaspismos Youth, he took an active part in the process of
creating the Greek Social Forum and attended many of the international protests and marches
against neoliberal globalization. In December 2004, at the 4th Congress of Synaspismos, he was
elected a member of the party's Central Political Committee and consequently to the Political
Secretariat, where he was responsible for educational and youth issues. [9]
Tsipras first entered the limelight of mainstream Greek politics during the 2006 local election when
he ran for the Mayor of Athensunder the "Anoihti Poli" (Greek: , "Open
City") Syriza ticket that gained 10.51% of the Athenian vote, finishing third overall. Tsipras won a
seat on the Municipality of Athens council by virtue of him being first on the Syriza list.[9][12] He did not
run for the Greek Parliament in the 2007 election, choosing to continue to complete his term as a
member of the municipal council of Athens.

Alexis Tsipras giving his speech as a presidential candidate at the 5th Congress of Synaspismos.

Tsipras was elected Leader of Synaspismos during its 5th Congress on 10 February 2008, after
previous Leader Alekos Alavanos decided not to stand again due to personal reasons. [13] Tsipras
became leader of Synaspismos at the age of 33, thus becoming the youngest leader of a Greek
political party since 1931. In the 2009 election, he was elected to the Hellenic Parliament for Athens
A and was subsequently voted unanimously to be the head of the Syriza parliamentary group. [2]
[3]
Tsipras led SYRIZA through the 2012 elections, overseeing a swing of over 22% to the party, and
becoming the Leader of the Opposition.

Tsipras in Bologna holding a speech for The Other Europe allied party.

In December 2013 Tsipras was the first candidate proposed for the position of President of the
Commission of the European Union by theEuropean United LeftNordic Green Left (GUE/NGL). The
vote was a EU member states election to the European Parliament in May 2014.

Tsipras campaigned as the only candidate of the south periphery countries. At the beginning of May
2014, in a speech in Berlin, he clarified many of his positions, in opposition to the allegedly Merkeldominated neoliberal political course in Europe. Tsipras declared a substantial change for a better
future for all Europeans is visible within 10 years. He addressed those who lost out in the fallout of
the financial crises from 2008 to 2014, which produced unexpectedly high jobless rates in most of
the EU. The speech was given in English to a German audience and intended to be listened to
throughout Europe.[14] Although the GUE/NGL won in Greece, winning six of the 21 Greek seats in
the European Parliament, it finished fifth in Europe overall.

Prime Minister of Greece[edit]

Alexis Tsipras laying down red roses at the Kaisariani Memorial.

Alexis Tsipras speaking onSubversive Festival 2013 in Zagreb,Croatia.

Tsipras led Syriza to victory in the general election held on 25 January 2015, falling short of an
outright majority in Parliament by just two seats. The following morning, Tsipras reached an
agreement with the right-wing populist Independent Greeks party to form a coalition.
On the same day he was sworn in by President Karolos Papoulias as the youngest Prime Ministerin
Greek history since 1865. Using the words "I declare in my name, honour and conscience to uphold
the Constitution and its laws."[15] Tsipras was also the first prime minister to take a civil rather than a
religious oath of office, marking a rupture with Greek orthodox ceremonial culture.[16]While reaffirming
the good relations between his party and the Church, he generated further religious controversy
during a meeting with Archbishop Ieronymos. Tsipras explained that as anatheist who neither
married in a religious ceremony nor baptised his children, he would not take a religious oath of
office.[17]
In his first act after being sworn in, Tsipras visited the Resistance Memorial in Kaisariani, laying down
red roses to commemorate the 200 members of the Greek Resistance executed by the
German Wehrmacht on 1 May 1944.[18]
During the first meeting of the new cabinet, Tsipras declared the priorities of his government to be
the fight against the "humanitarian crisis" in Greece, negotiations with the EU and the International

Monetary Fund on restructuring the Greek debt, and the implementation of promises made by
SYRIZA such as the abolition of the previous government's privatization policies. [19]
On 3 February 2015, Tsipras made his first official state visit, meeting with
his Italian counterpart, Matteo Renzi in Rome. They held a joint press conference expressing
concerns about austerity measures imposed by the Juncker Commission and stated that economic
growth is the only way to exit from the crisis. After the press conference, Renzi presented Tsipras
with an Italian tie as a gift. Tsipras, who is notable for never wearing ties, thanked Renzi and said
that he would wear the gift in celebration when Greece had successfully renegotiated the austerity
measures.[20]
On 20 February, the Eurogroup came to an agreement with Greece to extend the Greek bailout for
four months.[21] Tsipras had also announced a trip to Moscow on 8 April, in a bid to secure Russian
support.[22]
On 31 May, Tspiras laid out his complaints and outlined his plan in a recap of events since his
election. He concluded that there were at least two competing visions for the integration of Europe,
both of which he seemed to reject, and that certain unnamed institutional actors had "an obsession"
with their own technocratic programme.[23]
On 22 June, Tsipras presented a new Greek proposal, which included raising the retirement age
gradually to 67 and curbing early retirement. It also offered to reform the value-added-tax system to
set the main rate at 23 percent.[24] On 29 June Greek banks stayed shut and Tsipras said they are to
remain so to impose capital control. Trading in Greek stocks and bonds halted as well. [25][26]

Bailout referendum[edit]
Main article: Greek bailout referendum, 2015
On 27 June 2015 Tsipras announced a referendum to decide whether or not Greece should accept
the bailout conditions proposed jointly by the Juncker Commission, theInternational Monetary
Fund and the European Central Bank.
Tsipras recommended a "No" vote. On 3 July, during an address to at least 25,000 people gathered
in the capital's Syntagma square in front of parliament, he rejected some leaders' warnings that a
"No" result in Sunday's plebiscite could see Greece forced to leave the eurozone. He declared "On
Sunday, we are not simply deciding to remain in Europe -- we are deciding to live with dignity in
Europe".[27] The result of the referendum was 61.3 percent voting "No." [28]
Fidel Castro sent a letter to Tsipras congratulating him for the victory of "NO". In that letter he said
that the courage of Greece caused the admiration of the people of Latin America and Caribbean. [29]

Bailout Agreement[edit]
After days of negotiation, on 13 July 2015, Greek Prime Minister A. Tsipras came to an agreement
with the lenders. [30] Greece will get a loan of 82 to 86 billion euros, which shall be handed to Greece
gradually from 2015 until June 2018. In return, Greece will have to increase the VAT, reform the
pension system, assure the independence of ELSTAT, automatically cut public spending to get
primary surpluses, reform justice so decisions can be made faster, follow the reforms proposed
by OECD, revoke the laws passed by Tsipras except for the one concerning the "humanitarian
crisis", recapitalize the banks, privatize 50 billion of state assets and decrease the cost of the public
sector. In return, Greece would be given the Juncker package, 35 billion euros which will help the
Greek economy to grow.

Personal life[edit]
Alexis Tsipras is not married. His registered partner is Peristera "Betty" Batziana, an electrical and
computer engineer. They met in 1987, when 13, at the Ampelokipoi Branch High School. Both
eventually became members of the Communist Youth of Greece. They live together in Athens with

their two sons.[31] Their youngest son's middle name is Ernesto, a tribute to Che Guevara. Tsipras is
an avid football fan and, having grown up near the stadium, supports Panathinaikos, attending every
home game that he can.[7]Tsipras is a self-described atheist,[32][33] making him (as of 2015) among the
four publicly recognized atheist heads of government and state in the European Union, along
withFrench President Franois Hollande, Czech President Milo Zeman, and Croatian Prime
Minister Zoran Milanovi.[34]

See also[edit]

Politics of Greece

References[edit]
1.

Jump up^ "What You Need To Know About Alexis Tsipras, The Greek
Leader Who Wants To Change Europe". Huffington Post.

2.

^ Jump up to:a b
. ANA-MPA (in Greek). 9 October 2006. Retrieved 9
October 2009.

3.

^ Jump up to:a b "Alexis Tsipras to head SYRIZA Parliamentary

group". Athina 9.84 Municipal Radio(athina984.gr). 8 October 2009.
Retrieved 9 October 2009.

4.

Jump up^ "Time 100 - Alexis Tsipras, by Pablo Iglesias time.com". Alexis Tsipras | TIME. April 16, 2015.

5.

Jump up^ "Dnyann konutuu Yunan lider ipras, Babaeskili

kt". Hrriyet. Retrieved2015-01-31.

6.

Jump up^ " : ..

'
" (in Greek). Hellenic Parliament. Retrieved 16
October 2010.

7.

^ Jump up to:a b Andy Denwood (14 May 2012). "Profile: Alexis Tsipras,
leader of Syriza". BBC News.

8.

Jump up^ Apostolidis, Tasos (28 November 2007). :

"" 33
. KavalaNet (in Greek) (kavalanet.gr). Retrieved22 May 2009.

9.

^ Jump up to:a b c d e "Alexis Tsipras". Synaspismos. syn.gr.

Retrieved 22 May 2009.

10. Jump up^

(in
Greek). syn.gr. 21 November 2008. Retrieved16 October 2010.
11. Jump up^ (in Greek). enet.gr. 9 October 2009.
Retrieved 16 October 2010.

12. Jump up^ "Coalition selects A. Tsipras for Athens mayorship". ANAMPA. Retrieved 22 May 2009.
13. Jump up^ "Tsipras new SYN leader, new CPC elected". ANAMPA (ana.gr). Retrieved 26 April2009.
14. Jump up^ http://www.alexistsipras.eu/index.php/8-news/163-tsiprasto-speak-at-die-linke-party-congress-in-berlin
15. Jump up^ "Greek Elections: Alexis Tsipras sworn in as the new Greek
Prime Minister". newsit.gr. 26 January 2015. Retrieved 10
February 2015.
16. Jump up^ "A courteous distance". The Economist. 26 January 2015.
Retrieved 10 February 2015.
17. Jump up^ "Tsipras explanation to Archbishop over lack of religious
oath of office". Proto Thema. 26 January 2015. Retrieved 10
February 2015.
18. Jump up^ Helena Smith (26 January 2015). "Alexis Tsipras pays
homage to Greek communists at site of Nazi atrocity". The Guardian.
Retrieved 14 February 2015.
19. Jump up^ "" - , ,
, " (Total recall - Everything changes in Public
Power Corp., Education, Public Sector and
privatizations)". iefimerida.gr. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
20. Jump up^ "Tsipras, il tour anti-austerit a Roma. Padoan: "Crescita
priorit per la Grecia"".Repubblica.it. 3 February 2015.
21. Jump up^ "Eurozone chiefs strike deal to extend Greek bailout for
four months".theguardian.com. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
22. Jump up^ "Isolated Greece pivots east to Russia, China and Iran. But
will it work?".http://www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 6 Apr 2015.
23. Jump up^ lemonde.fr: "Alexis Tsipras : Non une zone euro deux
vitesses ", 31 May 2015
24. Jump up^ : Greece offers new plan to avert default, creditors see
some hope ", 22 June 2015
25. Jump up^ Mark Thompson (28 June 2015). "Greece shuts banks in
bid to prevent collapse".CNNMoney.
26. Jump up^ "Greek debt crisis: Banks to stay shut, capital controls
imposed". BBC News.
27. Jump up^ "Greece PM urges 'No' vote to 'live with dignity in
Europe'". Yahoo News UK. 3 July 2015.

28. Jump up^ 2015, Ministry of the Interior and

Administrative Reconstruction. (accessed 5 July 2015)
29. Jump up^ ""
" (Congratulation letter by Fidel Castro to Alexis
Tsipras)". kathimerini.gr. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
30. Jump up^ ""
"". news247.gr. Retrieved13 July 2015.
31. Jump up^ (in Greek). cosmo.gr. 17
May 2010. Retrieved16 October 2010.
32. Jump up^ Smith, Helena (18 September 2014). "Pope Francis the
'pontiff of the poor', says Greece's Alexis Tsipras". The
Guardian. Alexis Tsipras a radical leftist and self-described atheist
33. Jump up^ "Greece's far left: The company he keeps". The Economist.
4 October 2014. Mr Tsipras, an atheist
34. Jump up^ "These are the religious beliefs of Europes leaders
including the atheists". Retrieved28 January 2015.

External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has
media related to Alexis
Tsipras.

Homepage of Alexis Tsipras, 2014 candidature for European

Commission President

Curriculum Vitae Synaspismos website

Tsipras MP profile on Vouliwatch.gr

CV and office terms of Alexis Tsipras at the Hellenic

Parliament (English)

Political offices
Preceded by
Antonis Samaras

Leader of the
Opposition
20122015

Preceded by
Antonis Samaras

Prime Minister of
Greece

Succeeded by
Antonis Samaras
Incumbent

2015present
Party political offices
Preceded by
Alekos Alavanos

Leader of SYRIZA
2009present

Incumbent

[show]

Heads of government of Greece

[show]

Current Cabinet of Greece

[show]

European Council
[show]

Party of the European Left

WorldCat
VIAF: 86203747

Authority control

LCCN: no2009205972
GND: 138054738

Categories:

Prime Ministers of Greece

Greek engineers

Syriza politicians

Chairpersons of Synaspismos

1974 births

Living people

Greek government-debt crisis

Greek atheists

Greek MPs 200912

Greek MPs 2012 (May)

Greek MPs 201214

Greek MPs 2015

National Technical University of Athens alumni

People from Athens

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