Country name:
conventional long form: Hellenic Republic
conventional short form: Greece
local long form: Elliniki Dimokratia
local short form: Ellas or Ellada
former: Hellenic State, Kingdom of Greece
etymology: the English name derives from the Roman (Latin) designation "Graecia," meaning "Land of the Greeks"; the Greeks call their country "Hellas" or "Ellada"
Government type:
parliamentary republic
Capital:
name: Athens
geographic coordinates: 37 59 N, 23 44 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Administrative divisions:
13 regions (perifereies, singular - perifereia) and 1 autonomous monastic state* (aftonomi monastiki politeia); Agion Oros* (Mount Athos), Anatoliki Makedonia kai Thraki (East Macedonia and Thrace), Attiki (Attica), Dytiki Ellada (West Greece), Dytiki Makedonia (West Macedonia), Ionia Nisia (Ionian Islands), Ipeiros (Epirus), Kentriki Makedonia (Central Macedonia), Kriti (Crete), Notio Aigaio (South Aegean), Peloponnisos (Peloponnese), Sterea Ellada (Central Greece), Thessalia (Thessaly), Voreio Aigaio (North Aegean)
Independence:
3 February 1830 (from the Ottoman Empire); note - 25 March 1821, outbreak of the national revolt against the Ottomans; 3 February 1830, signing of the London Protocol recognizing Greek independence by Great Britain, France, and Russia
National holiday:
Independence Day, 25 March (1821)
Constitution:
many previous; latest entered into force 11 June 1975; amended 1986, 2001, 2008 (2015)
Legal system:
civil legal system based on Roman law
International law organization participation:
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
Citizenship:
citizenship by birth: no
citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Greece
dual citizenship recognized: yes
residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Karolos PAPOULIAS (since 12 March 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Alexis TSIPRAS (since 21 September 2015); note - Vassiliki THANOU-CHRISTOFILOU served as Interim Prime Minister beginning on 27 August 2015 after the resignation of Alexis TSIPRAS on 20 August 2015; she was Greece's first female prime minister
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister
elections/appointments: president elected by Hellenic Parliament for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 18 February 2015 (next to be held by February 2020); president appoints as prime minister the leader of the majority party or coalition in the Hellenic Parliament
election results: Prokopios PAVLOPOULOS (ND) elected president by Parliament - 233 of 300 votes
Legislative branch:
description: unicameral Hellenic Parliament or Vouli ton Ellinon (300 seats; 288 members directly elected in single- and multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote and 12 seats are filled from nationwide party lists; 50 seats allocated to the party with the highest total valid vote count and remaining seats are apportioned according to each party's or coalition's vote pecentage; members serve up to 4 years)
elections: last held on 20 September 2015 (next to be held by 2019); note - snap elections were called because of upheaval in the governing SYRIZA party over a new bailout deal with international creditors
election results: percent of vote by party - SYRIZA 35.5%, ND 28.1%, Golden Dawn 7.0%, PASOK-DIMAR 6.3%, KKE 5.6%, To Potami 4.1%, ANEL 3.7%, EK 3.4%, other 6.3%; seats by party - SYRIZA 145, ND 75, Golden Dawn 18, PASOK-DIMAR 17, KKE 15, To Potami 11, ANEL 10, EK 9; note - only parties surpassing a 3% threshold are entitled to parliamentary seats; parties need 10 seats to become formal parliamentary groups but can retain that status if the party participated in the last election and received the minimum 3% threshold
Judicial branch:
highest court(s): Hellenic Supreme Court of Civil and Penal Law (consists of 56 judges)
judge selection and term of office: judges selected by the Supreme Judicial Council which includes the president of the Supreme Court, other judges, and the prosecutor of the Supreme Court; judges appointed for life following a 2-year probationary period
subordinate courts: Supreme Administrative Court; Courts of Appeal; Courts of First Instance; Court of Auditors
Political parties and leaders:
Anticapitalist Left Cooperation for the Overthrow or ANTARSYA [collective leadership]
Coalition of the Radical Left or SYRIZA [Alexios (Alexis) TSIPRAS]
Communist Party of Greece or KKE [Dimitrios KOUTSOUMBAS]
Democratic Left or DIMAR [Athanasios (Thanassis) THEOCHAROPOULOS]
Golden Dawn [Nikolaos MICHALOLIAKOS]
Independent Greeks or ANEL [Panagiotis (Panos) KAMMENOS]
Movement of Democratic Socialists or KIDISO [Georgiose PAPANDREOU]
New Democracy or ND [Vasileios (Vassilis) MEIMARAKIS]
Panhellenic Socialist Movement or PASOK [Fofi GENIMMATA]
Popular Unity [Panagiotis LAFAZANIS]
To Potami (The River) [Stavros THEODORAKIS]
Union of Centrists or EK [Vassilis LEVENTIS]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Supreme Administration of Civil Servants Unions or ADEDY [Spyros PAPASPYROS]
Federation of Greek Industries or SEV [Dimitris DASKALOPOULOS]
General Confederation of Greek Workers or GSEE [Ioannis PANAGOPOULOS]
International organization participation:
Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CD, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD (partners), IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, Schengen Convention, SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Christos P. PANAGOPOULOS (since 17 September 2012)
chancery: 2217 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 939-1300
FAX: [1] (202) 939-1324
consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Tampa (FL), San Francisco
consulate(s): Atlanta, Houston, New Orleans
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador David D. PEARCE (since 18 October 2013)
embassy: 91 Vasillisis Sophias Avenue, 10160 Athens
mailing address: PSC 108, APO AE 09842-0108
telephone: [30] (210) 721-2951
FAX: [30] (210) 645-6282
consulate(s) general: Thessaloniki (2012)
Flag description:
nine equal horizontal stripes of blue alternating with white; a blue square bearing a white cross appears in the upper hoist-side corner; the cross symbolizes Greek Orthodoxy, the established religion of the country; there is no agreed upon meaning for the nine stripes or for the colors; the exact shade of blue has never been set by law and has varied from a light to a dark blue over time
National symbol(s):
Greek cross (white cross on blue field, arms equal length); national colors: blue, white
National anthem:
name: "Ymnos eis tin Eleftherian" (Hymn to Liberty)
lyrics/music: Dionysios SOLOMOS/Nikolaos MANTZAROS
note: adopted 1864; the anthem is based on a 158-stanza poem by the same name, which was inspired by the Greek Revolution of 1821 against the Ottomans (only the first two stanzas are used); Cyprus also uses "Hymn to Liberty" as its anthem
NOTE: The information regarding Greece on this page is re-published from the 2016 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Greece Government 2016 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Greece Government 2016 should be addressed to the CIA.
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This page was last modified 27-Apr-16