Greece

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Greece

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The Politics of Greece takes place in a large parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Greece is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία The Constitution of Greece (Σύνταγμα / Sýntagma) was created by the Fifth Revisional Parliament of the Hellenes and entered into force in 1975 The Hellenic Parliament ( Βουλή των Ελλήνων; transliterated Vouli (also Boule) ton Ellinon; literally 'Will of the Greeks' from the The Presidium of Parliament is the group of individuals elected by the Hellenic Parliament to deal with the business of organizing and running the Parliament The Conference of Presidents is a collective institution of the Hellenic Parliament. The Parliament of Greece naturally assumes legislative responsibilities within the framework of the state a key part of this parliamentary process (in any Liberal democracy The President of the Republic (Πρόεδρος της Δημοκρατίας colloquially referred to in English as the President of Greece, is the elected Head of state Dr Karolos Papoulias (Κάρολος Παπούλιας ˈkaro̞ˌlo̞s paˈpuʎas (born June 4, 1929) is the current President of the Hellenic The President of the Hellenic Republic has a number of minor departments underneath him in order to help him exercise his duties The Prime Minister of Greece ( Πρωθυπουργός της Ελλάδος) is the Head of government of the Hellenic Republic and the leader of Konstantínos Alexandrou Karamanlís (Κωνσταντίνος Αλεξάνδρου Καραμανλής (alt The cabinet of Greece comprises the heads of the major ministries In Greece, the independence of the justice system is safeguarded by the Constitution. In Greece, the Supreme Special Court ( Greek: Ανώτατο Ειδικό Δικαστήριο) is provided for in the article 100 of the Constitution The Court of Cassation ( Άρειος Πάγος, Areopagus, i In Greece, the Council of State (sometimes Counsel of State or State Council Συμβούλιο της Επικρατείας) is at the same time an administrative In Greece, the Chamber of Accounts (or Court of Accounts or Court of Auditors or Audit Court, French: Cour des Comptes The peripheries ( Περιφέρειες) are the official regional Administrative divisions of Greece. The super-prefectures of Greece are a second-degree organization of local self-government and an administrative division between the peripheries and the Greece consists of 13 administrative regions known as Peripheries of Greece, which are further subdivided into 3 super-prefectures and 54 prefectures or nomes Elections in Greece gives information on Election and election results in Greece. The 2006 Greek local elections elected representatives to Greece 's 3 super-prefectures, 54 prefectures, provinces, and approximately Procedure There were concerns that the election could return a Hung parliament, mainly due to the recently revised Greek electoral law Under the current electoral system a party needs to surpass a 3% threshold in the popular vote in order to enter parliament This is a list of electoral constituencies returning Members of Parliament to the Parliament of Greece. The European Union is a unique entity possessing elements of Intergovernmentalism, Supranationalism and a Multi-party Parliamentary democracy Prominent issues in Greek foreign policy include the enduring Cyprus problem Greek-Turkish differences over the Aegean, a dispute over the name of the Former Yugoslav Information on politics by country is available for every Country, including both De jure and De facto independent A parliamentary system, also known as parliamentarianism (and parliamentarism in American English) is a System of government in which Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principles of the people's representatives A republic is a State or Country that is not led by a hereditary Monarch, but in which the people (or at least a part of its people have impact on its The Prime Minister of Greece ( Πρωθυπουργός της Ελλάδος) is the Head of government of the Hellenic Republic and the leader of This article focuses on the cases where the Head of Government is a separate office from the Head of State A multi-party system is a system in which three or more political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Hellenic Parliament. A legislature is a type of representative Deliberative assembly with the power to create amend and change Laws The law created by a legislature is called Legislation For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. The Hellenic Parliament ( Βουλή των Ελλήνων; transliterated Vouli (also Boule) ton Ellinon; literally 'Will of the Greeks' from the Since the restoration of democracy the party system is dominated by the liberal-conservative New Democracy (Νέα Δημοκρατία - Nea Dimokratia) and the socialist Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα - Panellinio Sosialistiko Kinima). New Democracy ( ND, Greek: Νέα Δημοκρατία Néa Dimokratía) founded in 1974 is the main center-right political party in Greece The Panhellenic Socialist Movement, better known as PASOK ( Greek: Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα Pa nellinio So The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. In Law, the judiciary or judicial system is the system of Courts which administer Justice in the name of the sovereign or State

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. A constitution is a system for government often Codified as a written document that establishes the rules and principles of an autonomous political entity Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία President is a Title leaders of Organizations companies, Trade unions universities, and countries. TalkParliament#Screen-size. -->A  parliament is a Legislature, especially in those A republic is a State or Country that is not led by a hereditary Monarch, but in which the people (or at least a part of its people have impact on its thumb| |Broken Liberty Istanbul Archaeology Museum Civil liberties are freedoms that protect the Individual from the Government. Head of state is the generic term for the individual or collective office that serves as the chief public representative of a Monarchic or Republican Nation-state 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. Democracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is held completely by the people under a free electoral system This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The prime minister and cabinet play the central role in the political process, while the president performs some executive and legislative functions in addition to ceremonial duties. A cabinet is a body of high-ranking members of Government, typically representing the executive branch.

Executive branch

The Cabinet of Greece includes the heads of all executive ministries, appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister. This is a list of the heads of state of Greece, from the foundation of the modern nation state until the present Dr Karolos Papoulias (Κάρολος Παπούλιας ˈkaro̞ˌlo̞s paˈpuʎas (born June 4, 1929) is the current President of the Hellenic The Panhellenic Socialist Movement, better known as PASOK ( Greek: Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα Pa nellinio So Events 538 - Witiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " This is a list of the heads of government of the modern Greek state from its establishment during the Greek Revolution to the present day Konstantínos Alexandrou Karamanlís (Κωνσταντίνος Αλεξάνδρου Καραμανλής (alt New Democracy ( ND, Greek: Νέα Δημοκρατία Néa Dimokratía) founded in 1974 is the main center-right political party in Greece Events 241 BC - First Punic War: Battle of the Aegates Islands - The Romans sink the Carthaginian fleet bringing "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " The cabinet of Greece comprises the heads of the major ministries The President of the Republic is elected by the Parliament for a five-year term (election last held March 7, 2005), and a maximum of two terms in office. Events 161 - Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius dies and is succeeded by co-Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. When a presidential term expires, Parliament votes to elect the new President. In the first two votes, a ⅔ majority (200 votes) is necessary. The third and final vote requires a 3/5 (180 votes) majority. If the third vote is fruitless, Parliament is dissolved and elections are proclaimed by the outgoing President within the next 30 days. In the new Parliament, the election for President is repeated immediately with a 3/5 majority required for the initial vote, an absolute majority for the second one (151 votes) and a simple majority for the third and final one. The system is so designed as to promote consensus Presidential candidates among the main political parties. The president has the power to declare war, to grant pardon and to conclude agreements of peace, alliance, and participation in international organizations; upon the request of the government a simple parliamentary majority is required to ratify such actions, agreements, or treaties. An absolute or a three-fifths majority is required in exceptional cases (for example, the accession into the EU needed a 3/5 majority). The president can also 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, issue a proclamation or declare a state of siege without countersigning by the prime minister or the appropriate cabinet minister. To call a referendum, he must obtain approval from parliament.

The prime minister is elected by the people and he or she is usually the leader of the party controlling the absolute majority of Parliament members. According to the Constitution, the prime minister safeguards the unity of the government and directs its activities. He or she is the most powerful person of the Greek political system and he or she recommendates to the President the appointment or the dismissal of the ministers. .

Greek parliamentary politics hinge upon the principle of the "dedilomeni", the "declared confidence" of Parliament to the Prime Minister and his/her administration. This means that the President of the Republic is bound to appoint as Prime Minister a person who will be approved by a majority of the Parliament's members (i. e. 151 votes). With the current electoral system, it is the leader of the party gaining a plurality of the votes in the Parliamentary elections who gets appointed Prime Minister. An administration may, at any time, seek a "vote of confidence"; conversely, a number of Members of Parliament may ask that a "vote of reproach" be taken. Both are rare occurrences with usually predictable outcomes as voting outside the party line happens very seldom.

On March 7, 2004, Kostas Karamanlis, president of the New Democracy party and nephew of the late Constantine Karamanlis, was elected as the new Prime Minister of Greece, thus marking his party's first electoral victory in nearly 11 years. Events 161 - Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius dies and is succeeded by co-Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Konstantínos Alexandrou Karamanlís (Κωνσταντίνος Αλεξάνδρου Καραμανλής (alt New Democracy ( ND, Greek: Νέα Δημοκρατία Néa Dimokratía) founded in 1974 is the main center-right political party in Greece The Prime Minister of Greece ( Πρωθυπουργός της Ελλάδος) is the Head of government of the Hellenic Republic and the leader of Karamanlis took over Government from Kostas Simitis, who had been in office since January 1996. Konstantinos Simitis (Κωνσταντίνος Σημίτης (born June 23, 1936) usually referred to as Costas Simitis, was Prime Minister

Legislative branch

Greece elects a legislature by universal suffrage of all citizens over the age of 18. A legislature is a type of representative Deliberative assembly with the power to create amend and change Laws The law created by a legislature is called Legislation The Greek Parliament (Vouli ton Ellinon) has 300 members, elected for a four-year term by a system of reinforced proportional representation in 48 multi-seat constituencies, 8 single-seat constituencies and a single nationwide list. The Hellenic Parliament ( Βουλή των Ελλήνων; transliterated Vouli (also Boule) ton Ellinon; literally 'Will of the Greeks' from the Proportional representation (sometimes referred to as full representation or PR is a category of electoral formula aiming at a close match between the percentage of votes A constituency is any cohesive corporate unit or body bound by shared structures goals or loyalty A constituency is any cohesive corporate unit or body bound by shared structures goals or loyalty 288 of the 300 seats are determined by constituecy voting, and voters may select the candidate or candidates of their choice by marking their name on the party ballot. The remaining 12 seats are filled from nationwide party lists on a top-down basis and based on the proportion of the total vote each party received. 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. Under the current electoral law, any single party must receive at least a 3% nationwide vote tally in order to elect Members of Parliament (the so-called "3% threshold"). The law in its current form favors the first past the post party to achieve an absolute (151 parliamentary seats) majority, provided it receives a 41%+ nationwide vote. The plurality voting system is a Single-winner voting system often used to elect executive officers or to elect members of a legislative assembly which is based on single-member This is touted to enhance governmental stability. The electoral law can be changed by simple parliamentary majority, but a law so changed only becomes enforced in the election following the upcoming one, unless it is voted by the Greek Parliament with a majority of ⅔ of the total number of the deputies. The Hellenic Parliament ( Βουλή των Ελλήνων; transliterated Vouli (also Boule) ton Ellinon; literally 'Will of the Greeks' from the

Political parties and leaders

Main article: Greek legislative election, 2007

Judicial branch

Main article: Judicial system of Greece

In Greece the judicial branch is divided into civil and administrative courts. In Greece, the independence of the justice system is safeguarded by the Constitution. Civil courts judge civil and penal cases, whereas administrative courts judge administrative cases, namely disputes between the citizens and the State.

The judicial system of Greece comprises three Supreme Courts: the Court of Cassation (Άρειος Πάγος), the Council of State (Συμβούλιο της Επικρατείας) and the Chamber of Accounts (Ελεγκτικό Συνέδριο). The Court of Cassation ( Άρειος Πάγος, Areopagus, i In Greece, the Council of State (sometimes Counsel of State or State Council Συμβούλιο της Επικρατείας) is at the same time an administrative In Greece, the Chamber of Accounts (or Court of Accounts or Court of Auditors or Audit Court, French: Cour des Comptes These high courts are composed of professional judges, graduates of the National School of Judges. The way the judges are gradually promoted, until they become members of the Supreme Courts, is defined by the Constitution and the existing laws. The presidents and the vice-presidents of the three Supreme Courts are chosen by the Cabinet of Greece among the serving members of each of the Supreme Courts. The cabinet of Greece comprises the heads of the major ministries

The Court of Cassation is the supreme civil and penal court, whereas the Council of State is the supreme administrative court. The Court of Cassation ( Άρειος Πάγος, Areopagus, i In Greece, the Council of State (sometimes Counsel of State or State Council Συμβούλιο της Επικρατείας) is at the same time an administrative The Chamber of Accounts has an exclusive jurisdiction over certain administrative areas (for example it judges disputes arising from the legislation regulating the pensions of civil servants) and its decisions are irrevocable. In Greece, the Chamber of Accounts (or Court of Accounts or Court of Auditors or Audit Court, French: Cour des Comptes In Civil procedure, exclusive jurisdiction exists where one court has the power to adjudicate a case to the exclusion of all other courts This means that they are not judged at second instance by the Council of State. In Greece, the Council of State (sometimes Counsel of State or State Council Συμβούλιο της Επικρατείας) is at the same time an administrative
Sometimes, the Supreme Courts take contradictory decisions or they judge differently the constitutionality of a legal provision. These disputes are resolved by the Supreme Special Court, whose the composition and jurisdiction is regulated by the Constitution (article 100). In Greece, the Supreme Special Court ( Greek: Ανώτατο Ειδικό Δικαστήριο) is provided for in the article 100 of the Constitution As its name reveals, this court is not permanent and it sits, when a special case belonging to its jurisdiction arises. When the Supreme Special Court sits, it comprises eleven members: the Presidents of the three Supreme Courts, four members of the Court of Cassation and four members of the Council of State. In Greece, the Supreme Special Court ( Greek: Ανώτατο Ειδικό Δικαστήριο) is provided for in the article 100 of the Constitution The Court of Cassation ( Άρειος Πάγος, Areopagus, i In Greece, the Council of State (sometimes Counsel of State or State Council Συμβούλιο της Επικρατείας) is at the same time an administrative When it judges the constitutionality of a law or resolves the disputes between Supreme Courts, its composition comprises two more members: two professors of the Law Schools of Greece. The Supreme Special Court is the only court which can declare an unconstitutional legal provision as "powerless" (something like "null and void"), while the three Supreme Courts can only declare an unconstitutional legal provision as "inapplicable". In Greece, the Supreme Special Court ( Greek: Ανώτατο Ειδικό Δικαστήριο) is provided for in the article 100 of the Constitution The Supreme Special Court is also the Supreme Electoral Court, judging pleas against the legality of the legislative elections. In Greece, the Supreme Special Court ( Greek: Ανώτατο Ειδικό Δικαστήριο) is provided for in the article 100 of the Constitution

Administrative divisions

Greece is divided in 13 peripheries, further divided into 51 prefectures, the "Nomoi". The peripheries ( Περιφέρειες) are the official regional Administrative divisions of Greece. Greece consists of 13 administrative regions known as Peripheries of Greece, which are further subdivided into 3 super-prefectures and 54 prefectures or nomes The prefectures are each headed by a prefect (the "Nomarch"), who is elected by direct popular vote. The thirteen regional administrative districts (peripheries), each including a number of prefectures are headed by a regional governor (the "Peripheriarch"), appointed by the Minister of the Interior. The peripheries ( Περιφέρειες) are the official regional Administrative divisions of Greece. In northern Greece and in greater Athens, three areas have an additional administrative position between the nomarch and peripheriarch. Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's This official, known as the Chair of the prefectural local authorities or "superprefect" (the "Hypernomarch"), is elected by direct popular vote together with the nomarchs she or he supervises. Although municipalities and villages have elected officials, they do not have an adequate independent revenue base and must depend on the central government budget 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).

Greece also includes one autonomous region, the Monastic Community of the Holy Mountain, Mount Athos. This article concerns the buildings occupied by monastics. For the life inside monasteries and its historical roots see Monasticism. Mount Athos (Όρος Άθως is a mountain on the Peninsula of the same name in Macedonia, of northern Greece, called in Greek Άγιον

International organization participation

Greece is member of the 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, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNOMIG, UPU, WCO, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, Zangger Committee

Politicians of Greece

• Alekos Alavanos
• Dimitris Avramopoulos
• Dora Bakoyannis
• Maria Damanaki
• Manolis Glezos
• Konstantinos Karamanlis
• Konstantinos Mitsotakis
• Costas Karamanlis
• Georgios Karatzaferis
• Nikos Konstantopoulos
• Vassilis Leventis
• Andreas Papandreou
• George Papandreou, junior
• George Papandreou, senior
• Aleka Papariga
• Karolos Papoulias
• Antonis Samaras
• Costas Simitis
• Costis Stephanopoulos
• Dimitris Tsovolas
• Hatzigakis Sotirios

Political issues

Education

Under the Greek constitution,^[1] education is the responsibility of the state. The Council of Europe (Conseil de l'Europe is the oldest International organisation working towards European integration, being founded in 1949 The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in The International Criminal Court ( ICC or ICCt) was established in 2002 as a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for Genocide, crimes against The International Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit private international organization that works to promote and support global trade and Globalization. The International Criminal Police Organization, better known by its telegraphic address Interpol is an organization facilitating international police cooperation The North Atlantic Treaty The Southeast European Cooperative Initiative (SECI is an international organization aimed to combat and improve coordination against transborder crime in Southeast Europe The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on November 16 The World Customs Organization ( WCO) is an Intergovernmental organization that helps Members (Governments usually represented by Customs administrations from 173 countries The Western European Union ( WEU) is a partially dormant European defence and security organization established on the basis of the Treaty of Brussels of 1948 The Zangger Committee, also known as the Nuclear Exporters Committee, sprang from Article III Alekos (Alexandros Alavanos ( Greek: Αλέκος Αλαβάνος is a Greek politician member of the Hellenic Parliament former member of the European Parliament Personal information He was born in Athens in 1953 He served his military service in the Greek Air Force (1978-1980 based in Athens and in the NATO Headquarters Dora Bakoyannis ( Greek: Ντόρα Μπακογιάννη born Theodora Mitsotakis) ( May 6 1954) is a Greek politician the current Maria Damanaki (Μαρία Δαμανάκη is a Greek politician former president of the Synaspismos party of the radical Manolis Glezos (Μανόλης Γλέζος is a Greek left wing politician and writer world-wide known especially for his participation in the World War II Constantine Mitsotakis (Κωνσταντίνος Μητσοτάκης or Konstantinos Mitsotakis) (born October 18, 1918) Greek politician Konstantínos Alexandrou Karamanlís (Κωνσταντίνος Αλεξάνδρου Καραμανλής (alt Georgios Karatzaferis (born August 11, 1947) is a Greek politician a member of the Hellenic Parliament and the president of the Popular Nikos Konstantopoulos (Νίκος Κωνσταντόπουλος born June 8 1942) is a Greek politician member of the Hellenic Parliament Vassilis Leventis ( Greek: Βασίλης or Βασίλειος Λεβέντης; born 1951 Messinia, Greece) is a Greek politician Andreas Georgiou Papandreou (Ανδρέας Γ Παπανδρέου ( 5 February, 1919 23 June, 1996) was a Greek economist George Papandreou (in Greek Georgios Papandreou or Γεώργιος Παπανδρέου ( 18 February 1888 - 1 November 1968) was Alexandra "Aleka" Papariga (Αλέκα Παπαρήγα (born November 5 1945 is a communist Greek Politician who has served the Communist Dr Karolos Papoulias (Κάρολος Παπούλιας ˈkaro̞ˌlo̞s paˈpuʎas (born June 4, 1929) is the current President of the Hellenic Antonis (or Andonis Samaras (born May 23 1951) is a Greek politician and former Member of the European Parliament for New Democracy Konstantinos Simitis (Κωνσταντίνος Σημίτης (born June 23, 1936) usually referred to as Costas Simitis, was Prime Minister Konstantinos Stephanopoulos ( Κωνσταντίνος Στεφανόπουλος) (born August 15, 1926) is a Greek Politician Dimitris Tsovolas (Dimitrios Tsovolas Greek: Δημήτριος Τσοβόλας is a Politician of Greece. Sotirios Hatzigakis (born September 15 1944) is a Greek politician currently serving as Minister for Justice. Most Greeks attend public primary and secondary schools. There are a few private schools, which must meet the standard curriculum of and are 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.

A recent issue concerning education in Greece is the institutionalisation of private universities. A university is an institution of Higher education and Research, which grants Academic degrees in a variety of subjects According to the constitution^[2] only state-run universities operate on the land. However in the recent years many foreign private universities have established branches in Greece, offering Bachelor's level degrees, therefore creating a legal contradiction between the Greek constitution and the EU laws allowing foreign companies to operate anywhere in the Union. A bachelor's degree is usually an Undergraduate Academic degree awarded for a course or major that generally lasts for three four or in some cases and Additionally, every year, tens of thousands of Greek students were not accepted to the state-run University system, become "educational immigrants" to other countries' Higher Education institutions, where they move to study. This has created a chronic problem for Greece, in terms of loss of capital as well as human resources, since many of those students opt to seek employment in the countries they studied, after completing their studies. It is characteristic that in 2006, Greece, with 11. 5 million inhabitants, was fourth in the world in terms of student export in absolute numbers, with 60,000 students abroad, while the first country in this regard, People's Republic of China of over 1,3 billion inhabitants, had 100,000 students abroad. In terms of students abroad as a percent of the general population, Greece is by far the leading country, with 5,250 students per million, compared to second Malaysia's 1,780 students per million inhabitants.

Citing these problems as a result of the state's monopoly on Higher Education, New Democracy committed to amending the constitution, in order to allow private universities to operate in Greece on a non-profit basis. New Democracy ( ND, Greek: Νέα Δημοκρατία Néa Dimokratía) founded in 1974 is the main center-right political party in Greece This proposal was rejected by then-ruling PASOK in the late nineties, and thus could not muster the support necessary to be put to vote on the constitutional amendment of 2001. The Panhellenic Socialist Movement, better known as PASOK ( Greek: Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα Pa nellinio So However, PASOK has since changed its stance, and now also supports a constitutional provision for the creation of private Universities on a non-profit basis. This proposal continues to encounter the fierce opposition of the Left parties and part of the academic community, both professors and students.

At the outset of 2006, prime minister Kostas Karamanlis announced the initiative of his government for a new amendment of the Constitution. This article is about the government position For other uses see Prime Minister (disambiguation. Konstantínos Alexandrou Karamanlís (Κωνσταντίνος Αλεξάνδρου Καραμανλής (alt The Constitution of Greece (Σύνταγμα / Sýntagma) was created by the Fifth Revisional Parliament of the Hellenes and entered into force in 1975 According to his assertion one of the main issues of this amendment (the second within less than 10 years) is going to be the creation of "non-state owned" universities.

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 Church of Greece ( Greek: Ekklēsía tês Helládos, ekliˈsia tis eˈlaðos is one of the fifteen Autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world The Greek Orthodox Church is self-governing but under the spiritual guidance of the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople. Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis, or gr ἡ Πόλις hē Polis, Latin: la CONSTANTINOPOLIS About 98% of Greek citizens are nominal followers of the Orthodox Church. Freedom of religious beliefs is guaranteed by the Constitution, but "proselytism" is officially illegal. Proselytism is the practice of attempting to convert people to another opinion and particularly another religion According to the most recent Eurostat "Eurobarometer" poll, in 2005,^[3] 81% of Greek citizens responded that "they believe there is a God", whereas 16% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and only 3% that "they do not believe there is a God, spirit, nor life force". This would make Greece one of the most religious countries in the European Union of 25 members, after Malta and Cyprus.

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. A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion Thrace (Тракия Trakiya or "Trakija" or Trakia, Θράκη Thráki, Trakya is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe The Treaty of Lausanne ( July 24, 1923) was a Peace treaty signed in Lausanne that settled the Anatolian part of the Partitioning There are small Roman Catholic communities on some of the Cyclades, remnants of the long Venetian rule over the islands. The CYCLADES Packet switching network was an extremely influential French network system in the early 1970s similar to the ARPANET. The Most Serene Republic of Venice ((Serenìsima Repùblica Vèneta or Repùblica de Venesia Serenissima Repubblica The recent influx of (mostly illegal) immigrants from Eastern Europe and the Third World has an expectedly varied multi-religious profile (Roman Catholic, Muslim, Hindu etc). A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion A Hindu ( Devanagari: हिन्दू is an adherent of the philosophies and scriptures of Hinduism, a set of religious, Philosophical

During the 2001 constitutional amendment, complete separation of church and state was proposed, but the two major parties, ND and PASOK, decided not to open this controversial matter, which clashes with both the population and the clergy. The Panhellenic Socialist Movement, better known as PASOK ( Greek: Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα Pa nellinio So For example, numerous protests occurred over the removal of the Religious Denomination entry from the National ID card in 2000. Outside the Orthodox majority, the Jewish telegraphic Agency claims that Greece had and still has a serious problem of religious freedom. ^[4][5]

Media

In comparative NGO studies , Greece ranks among the highest in press freedom worldwide.

The Greek media, collectively, is a very influential institution — usually aggressive, sensationalist. "Popular press" redirects here note that the University of Wisconsin Press publishes under the imprint "The Popular Press" As with many countries, most of the media are owned by businessmen with commercial interests in other sectors of the economy. There are often accusations of newspapers, magazines, and radio and TV channels being used to promote their commercial enterprises as well as to seek political influence.

In 1994, the Ministry of Press and Media was established to deal with media and communication issues. The Minister for the Press and the Media of Greece was the government minister responsible for the running of the Ministry of the Press and the Media ERT S.A., a public corporation supervised by the Minister of Press, operates three national television channels and five national radio channels. Ellinikí Radiofonía Tileórasi (Ελληνική Ραδιοφωνία Τηλεόραση—Hellenic Radio Television is the Greek state-owned public radio and television The Minister of Press also serves as the primary government spokesperson.

The Secretary General of Press and Information prepares the semi-official Athens News Agency (ANA) Bulletin. Along with AP and Reuters, this is a primary source of information for the Greek press. The Associated Press ( AP) is an American News agency. The AP is a Cooperative owned by its contributing Newspapers radio This article is primarily about Reuters prior to its 2008 merger with Thomson The Ministry of Press and Information also issues the semi-official 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. Cable News Network, usually referred to by its Initialism CNN, is a major English language Television network founded in 1980 by Ted Turner State and private TV stations also use Eurovision and Visnews as sources. The European Broadcasting Union ( EBU; L'Union Européenne de Radio-Télévision ("UER" and unrelated to the European Union) is a confederation 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, in 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. Euronews is a Multilingual and pan- European Television News channel launched on January 1 1993. 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.

Military Service

Main article: Conscription in Greece

12 months for all males of 18 years of age; Compulsory with fines and imprisonment if denied, but neither fine nor imprisonment has been imposed since 1994, where the last warrant against a draft-dodger was issued. As of 2008 Greece (Hellenic Republic has mandatory Military service ( Conscription) of 12 months for men between the ages of 18 and 45 Members of families with 3 children serve a reduced time of 9 months. Military service can also be substituted with a longer public service, which by the standards of Amnesty International, ought to be considered punitive as it is twice as long as the regular tour of duty. Limited steps have been taken to turn the Greek military into a semi-professional army in the last years, leading to the gradual reduction of the service from 18 to 12 months and the inclusion of a greater number of professional military personnel in most vertices of the force. Recent developments, though, within the anti-conscription movement in Greece, such as the high death rate from suicides during service and work-related accidents, such as the Manitsa incident, combined with a high rate of draft-dodging, have advanced the idea that mandatory coscription should be abolished and an all-professional/all-volunteer army should be put in place.

Military spending

Greece directs approximately 4. 3% of its GDP to military expenditures, the 2nd highest percentage in Europe (behind Russia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia). Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending ^[6] In absolute numbers the Greek military budget ranked 28th in the world in 2005. By the same measure, Greek military budget ranked 6th in the Mediterranean basin (behind France, Italy, Turkey, Israel and Spain) and 2nd (behind Turkey) in its immediate vicinity, the Balkans. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. ^[7] It must be noted that Greek arms purchasing is among the highest in the world: Greece ranked 3rd in the world in 2004. ^[8]

These figures are explained^[9] in the light of the arms race between Greece and Turkey with key issues being the Cyprus dispute and disagreement over sovereignty of certain islets of the Aegean. The term arms race, in its original usage describes a competition between two or more parties for real or apparent military supremacy The Cyprus dispute is a territorial conflict between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots and also Republic of Cyprus and Turkey over Cyprus, an Sovereignty is the exclusive Right to control a Government, a country, a people or oneself Etymology In ancient times there were various explanations for the name Aegean. For more information see Greco-Turkish relations. Greece-Turkey relations have been marked by alternating periods of mutual hostility and reconciliation ever since Greece won its independence from the Ottoman Empire Reversly, the foreign relations of Greece as well as many internal policy decisions are largely affected by its arms purchases. The United States, being the major arms seller to Greece has been known to actively intervene in military spending decisions made by the Greek government. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the ^[10] The US has at times actively stepped in to help avoid large scale crisis, as in the case of the Imia-Kardak crisis. Imia ( in Greek, or Kardak in Turkish is a set of two small uninhabited Islets in the Aegean Sea, situated between the Greek island

The reduction of military spending has long been an issue in Greek politics. The incumbent prime minister, Kostas Karamanlis has proposed a reduction to military spending through a "Defence Eurozone",^[11] referring to the European Security and Defence Policy. This is a list of the heads of government of the modern Greek state from its establishment during the Greek Revolution to the present day Konstantínos Alexandrou Karamanlís (Κωνσταντίνος Αλεξάνδρου Καραμανλής (alt The European Security and Defence Policy or ESDP is a major element of the Common Foreign and Security Policy pillar of the European Union The previous PASOK administration, also planned on reducing military spending^[12] prior to its failure to be re-elected in 2004, while PASOK politicians usually refer to money saved from reducing military spending as a "peace dividend" ("μέρισμα ειρήνης"). The Panhellenic Socialist Movement, better known as PASOK ( Greek: Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα Pa nellinio So The Panhellenic Socialist Movement, better known as PASOK ( Greek: Πανελλήνιο Σοσιαλιστικό Κίνημα Pa nellinio So ^[13] The parties of the Left, KKE and Synaspismos, have been vocal in condemning military spending. The Communist Party of Greece (Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας Kommounistikó Kómma Elládas) better known by its acronym ΚΚΕ (usually The Coalition of the Left of Movements and Ecology (Συνασπισμός της Αριστεράς των Κινημάτων και της Οικολογίας Synaspismós tīs Regarding the purchase of 30 F-16 and 333 Leopard tanks in 2005, both parties criticized the New Democracy administration for spending money on weapons while doing nothing to relieve the lower classes and said that high military spending "does not correspond to the real needs of the country but is carried out according to NATO planning and to serve weapon manufacturers and the countries that host them". The Leopard (or Leopard 1) is a German designed and produced main battle tank that first entered service in 1965 and was used as the main battle tank New Democracy ( ND, Greek: Νέα Δημοκρατία Néa Dimokratía) founded in 1974 is the main center-right political party in Greece The North Atlantic Treaty ^[14]

Notes

External links

• Greek election results, via the Greek Ministry of Internal Affairs
• ekloges.gr Greek Elections
• Official website of the Prime Minister of Greece
• Greece the first country in the globe in terms of student export
• Greek Politics Community Forums
• Greek news website covering a wide range of topics, focusing on the effect of globalization on Greece and its national problems