Alexis Tsipras
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| Alexis Tsipras Αλέξης Τσίπρας MP |
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| Prime Minister of Greece | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 26 January 2015 |
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| President | Karolos Papoulias Prokopis Pavlopoulos |
| Deputy | Yannis Dragasakis |
| Preceded by | Antonis Samaras |
| Leader of the Opposition | |
| In office 20 June 2012 – 26 January 2015 |
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| Prime Minister | Antonis Samaras |
| Preceded by | Antonis Samaras |
| Succeeded by | Antonis Samaras |
| Leader of Syriza | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 4 October 2009 |
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| Preceded by | Alekos Alavanos |
| Member of the Hellenic Parliament from Athens A | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 4 October 2009 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | July 28, 1974 (age 40) Athens, Greece |
| Nationality | Greek |
| Political party | Syriza |
| Domestic partner | Peristera Batziana |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | National Technical University |
Contents
Early life and career
Tsipras in 2013
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 inter-departmental 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: Εγκέλαδος) group, and as member of it was elected to the executive board of the students' union of the Civil Engineering School of NTUA, 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
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 Athens under the "Anoihti Poli" (Greek: Ανοιχτή Πόλη, "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 in Bologna holding a speech for The Other Europe allied party.
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 Merkel-dominated 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
Alexis Tsipras laying down red roses at the Kaisariani Memorial.
On the same day he was sworn in by President Karolos Papoulias as the youngest Prime Minister in 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. Tsiparis explained that as an atheist 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
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, the International 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]
Personal life
Alexis Tsipras is not married. His registered partner is Peristera "Betty" Batziana, an electrical and computer engineer. The two 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.[30] 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,[31][32] making him (as of 2015) among the four publicly recognized atheist heads of government and state in the European Union, along with French President François Hollande, Czech President Miloš Zeman, and Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanović.[33]See also
References
- "These are the religious beliefs of Europe’s leaders—including the atheists". Retrieved 28 January 2015.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alexis Tsipras. |
- Homepage of Alexis Tsipras, 2014 candidature for European Commission President
- Curriculum Vitae Synaspismos website
- Ανοιχτή Πόλη
- Tsipras MP profile on Vouliwatch.gr
- CV and office terms of Alexis Tsipras at the Hellenic Parliament (English)
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Antonis Samaras |
Leader of the Opposition 2012–2015 |
Succeeded by Antonis Samaras |
| Preceded by Antonis Samaras |
Prime Minister of Greece 2015–present |
Incumbent |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Alekos Alavanos |
Leader of SYRIZA 2009–present |
Incumbent |
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Alexis Tsipras – a radical leftist and self-described atheist
Mr Tsipras, an atheist
end quote from:
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