Konstantinos Tasoulas
Konstantinos Tasoulas became President of Greece in March 2025, elected by parliament after a long career in the centre-right New Democracy party. Born in Ioannina in 1959, he studied law at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and entered politics through the party's youth organisation. He was first elected a deputy for Ioannina in 2000 and held the seat continuously thereafter, serving as deputy minister of culture and sport and then as minister of culture in 2014 and 2015. He was elected Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament in July 2019 and held the office for nearly six years, a period covering the pandemic, the debt-recovery years and a series of contentious debates including the legalisation of same-sex marriage in 2024. As culture minister and afterwards he was a consistent and prominent advocate for the return of the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum, a campaign that gained ground during his speakership. The Greek presidency is largely ceremonial. Its powers were reduced sharply by the constitutional revision of 1986, and it functions as a symbolic head of state, promulgating laws and formally appointing governments, with real authority resting with the prime minister. He was elected on the fourth ballot with 160 votes, a simple majority of the 300-seat chamber, after the earlier rounds requiring a supermajority failed — the ordinary pattern where a government lacks 180 seats. He succeeded Katerina Sakellaropoulou, the first woman to hold the office. His term runs to 2030. Greek presidents are limited to two five-year terms and are elected by parliament rather than by the public, which is why the office rarely produces a national figure.
- Lived: 1959 CE – ?
- Nationality: Greek
- Roles: President of Greece (2025-present)
