Second Cabinet of Alexis Tsipras

Last updated
Second Cabinet of Alexis Tsipras
Flag of Greece.svg
Cabinet of Greece
Alexis Tsipras in Moscow 2.jpg
Alexis Tsipras in 2015
Date formed21 September 2015 (2015-09-21)
Date dissolved8 July 2019
People and organisations
Head of state Prokopis Pavlopoulos
Head of government Alexis Tsipras
Deputy head of government Yannis Dragasakis
No. of ministers15
Total no. of members45
Member parties Syriza
ANEL
with participation from the Ecologist Greens (Until 14/01/19)
Syriza
with participation from the Ecologist Greens and Independents (from 14/01/19)
Status in legislature Syriza-led coalition government (until 14/01/19)
155 / 300(52%)

Syriza-led minority government (from 14/01/19)
151 / 300(50%)
Opposition parties New Democracy
Democratic Alignment
Golden Dawn
Communist Party of Greece (KKE)
Union of Centrists (until 30/05/2019)
The River
Independent Greeks (until 08/02/19)
Opposition leader Vangelis Meimarakis (until 24/11/15)
Ioannis Plakiotakis (24/11/15 - 10/01/16)
Kyriakos Mitsotakis (from 10/01/16)
History
Election September 2015 Greek legislative election
Legislature term17th (2015–2019)
Predecessor Thanou-Christophilou Caretaker Cabinet
Successor Kyriakos Mitsotakis Cabinet

The Second Cabinet of Alexis Tsipras was sworn in on 23 September 2015, following the Greek legislative election in September 2015. Alexis Tsipras, leader of Syriza, was sworn in as Prime Minister of Greece on 21 September, having agreed to re-form the coalition with Panos Kammenos and the Independent Greeks.

Contents

On 16 June 2018 the Hellenic Parliament rejected motion of no confidence against the government with a 127-153 vote. [1]

Background

The First Cabinet of Alexis Tsipras was formed following the legislative election in January 2015, and was a coalition of Syriza and the Independent Greeks. Most notably, the government had to deal with the Greek government-debt crisis, but was also responsible for the early July bailout referendum. Throughout the duration of their term, their main responsibility was re-negotiating the terms of the third bailout package.

During the vote on the third bailout package in the Hellenic Parliament, a number of Syriza MPs voted against the package resulting in the government officially losing its majority. For this reason, Tsipras and the government resigned on 20 August and called for a snap election to take place on 20 September. Prokopis Pavlopoulos, the President of Greece had to allow for all the opposition parties to attempt to form a government of their own, but none of them had sufficient numbers of MPs. Subsequently, a caretaker cabinet led by Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou was formed on 27 August to lead the country into the election.

During the election campaign period, opinion polls had suggested that Syriza and New Democracy, led by Vangelis Meimarakis, were neck and neck, with some polls showing New Democracy ahead and others showing Syriza ahead. The exit polls generally showed that Syriza was on 30-34%, and New Democracy was on 28.5-32.5%.

Formation

At approximately 12:00 GMT on 21 September, Tsipras met with Panos Kammenos, his former coalition partner, at the Syriza party HQ in Athens. At the meeting, they discussed the make-up of the new cabinet. [2]

Composition

Prime minister

Office [3] IncumbentPartyIn office since
Alexis Tsipras 2015 (cropped).jpg Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras Syriza 21 September 2015
Giannis Dragasakis a Mar 25 2016 cropped.jpg Deputy Prime Minister Yannis Dragasakis Syriza23 September 2015

Ministerial responsibilities

Alternate Ministers are directly assigned special responsibilities and powers by the prime minister, including: [4]

Full ministers however retain:

Deputy ministers are assigned with responsibilities and powers by the prime minister and the full minister they report to.

Ministry [5] Office [3] IncumbentPartyIn office since
1.
Ministry of the Interior and Administrative Reconstruction
Minister of the Interior and Administrative Reconstruction Panagiotis Kouroumblis Syriza23 September 2015
Deputy Minister of the Interior and Administrative Reconstruction Yannis Balafas aSyriza23 September 2015
Alternate Minister of Administrative Reform Christoforos Vernardakis Syriza23 September 2015
Alternate Minister of Citizen Protection Nikos Toskas Syriza23 September 2015 – 3 August 2018
Alternate Minister of Immigration Policy Ioannis Mouzalas Independent 28 August 2015
Deputy Minister for Macedonia and Thrace Maria Kollia-Tsaroucha aANEL23 September 2015 – 29 August 2018
2.
Ministry of Economy, Development and Tourism
Minister of Economy, Development and Tourism Giorgos Stathakis Syriza23 September 2015
Alternate Minister of Tourism Elena Kountoura Independent23 September 2015
Deputy Minister of National Strategic Reference Framework Issues Alexis Charitsis aSyriza23 September 2015
Deputy Minister of Industry Theodora Tzagri aSyriza23 September 2015
3.
Ministry of National Defence
Minister of National Defence Evangelos Apostolakis Military13 January 2019
Alternate Minister of National Defence Dimitris Vitsas Syriza23 September 2015
4.
Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs
Minister of Education, Research and Religious Affairs Nikos Filis Syriza23 September 2015 - 5 November 2016
Alternate Minister of Education, Research and Religious Affairs Sia Anagnostopoulou Syriza23 September 2015
Alternate Minister of Research and Innovation Kostas Fotakis Independent23 September 2015
Deputy Minister of Education, Research and Religious Affairs Theodosis Pelegrinis Syriza23 September 2015
5.
Ministry of Environment and Energy
Minister of Environment and Energy Panos Skourletis Syriza23 September 2015
Alternate Minister of Environment and Energy Giannis Tsironis OP 23 September 2015
6.
Ministry of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights
Minister of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights Nikos Paraskevopoulos Syriza23 September 2015
Alternate Minister of Corruption Issues Dimitris Papangelopoulos Independent23 September 2015
7.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Kotzias Syriza23 September 2015 – 17 October 2018
Alternate Minister of European Affairs Nikos Xydakis Syriza23 September 2015
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ioannis Amanatidis aSyriza23 September 2015
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dimitris Mardas aSyriza23 September 2015
8.
Ministry of Finance
Minister of Finance Euclid Tsakalotos Syriza23 September 2015
Alternate Minister of Finance Tryfon Alexiadis Syriza 18 July 2015
Alternate Minister of Finance Giorgos Houliarakis Independent23 September 2015
9.
Ministry of Labour, Social Insurance and Social Solidarity
Minister of Labour, Social Insurance and Social Solidarity Georgios Katrougalos Syriza23 September 2015
Alternate Minister of Social Solidarity Theano Fotiou Syriza23 September 2015
Alternate Minister for Combatting Unemployment Rania Antonopoulou Syriza23 September 2015 – 26 Febr 2018 [6]
Deputy Minister of Social Insurance Issues Anastasios Petropoulos aSyriza23 September 2015
10.
Ministry of Health
Minister of Health Andreas Xanthos Syriza23 September 2015
Alternate Minister of Health Pavlos Polakis Syriza23 September 2015
11.
Ministry of Infrastructure, Transport and Networks
Minister of Infrastructure, Transport and Networks Christos Spirtzis Independent23 September 2015
Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, Transport and Networks Dimitris Kammenos aANEL23 September 2015 – 23 September 2015
Panagiotis Sgouridis aANEL24 September 2015 – 23 February 2016
Marina Chrissoveloni aANEL24 February 2016
12.
Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy
Minister of Shipping and Island Policy Thodoris Dritsas Syriza23 September 2015
13.
Ministry of Agricultural Development and Food
Minister of Agricultural Development and Food Evangelos Apostolou Syriza23 September 2015
Alternate Minister of Agricultural Development and Food Markos Bolaris Syriza23 September 2015
14.
Ministry of Culture and Sports
Minister of Culture and Sports Aristides Baltas Syriza23 September 2015
Deputy Minister of Sports Stavros Kontonis Syriza23 September 2015 - 29 August 2018

Ministers of State

Rank [7] Office [3] IncumbentPartyIn office since
1. Minister of State Nikos Pappas Syriza23 September 2015
2. Minister of State for Coordinating Government Operations Alekos Flambouraris Syriza23 September 2015
Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister Terence Quick aANEL23 September 2015 – 4 November 2016
Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister and Government Spokesperson Dr Olga Gerovassili Syriza23 September 2015

Bold denotes full ministers attending the weekly cabinet council.
a Deputy ministers are not members of the cabinet but may attend cabinet meetings.
References: [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antonis Samaras</span> Prime Minister of Greece (2012–2015)

Antonis Samaras is a Greek politician who served as 14th Prime Minister of Greece from 2012 to 2015. A member of the New Democracy party, he was its president from 2009 until 2015. Samaras started his national political career as Minister of Finance in 1989; he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1989 to 1992 and Minister of Culture in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syriza</span> Greek political party

The Coalition of the Radical Left – Progressive Alliance, best known by the syllabic abbreviation SYRIZA, is a centre-left to left-wing political party in Greece. It was founded in 2004 as a political coalition of left-wing and radical left parties, and registered as a political party in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexis Tsipras</span> Prime Minister of Greece (2015; 2015–2019)

Alexis Tsipras is a Greek politician who served as Prime Minister of Greece from 2015 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">May 2012 Greek legislative election</span>

Legislative elections were held in Greece on Sunday, 6 May 2012 to elect all 300 members to the Hellenic Parliament. It was scheduled to be held in late 2013, four years after the previous election; however, an early election was stipulated in the coalition agreement of November 2011 which formed the Papademos Cabinet. The coalition comprised both of Greece's traditional major political parties, PASOK on the left and New Democracy (ND) on the right, as well as the right-wing Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS). The aim of the coalition was to relieve the Greek government-debt crisis by ratifying and implementing decisions taken with other Eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) a month earlier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Independent Greeks</span> Political party in Greece

The Independent Greeks – National Patriotic Alliance was a national conservative political party in Greece.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Panos Kammenos</span> Greek politician

Panagiotis "Panos" Kammenos is a Greek politician and the founder of the right-wing party "Independent Greeks", which formed the governing coalition of the Hellenic Parliament with the Syriza Party after Kammenos met with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, on 26 January 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">June 2012 Greek legislative election</span>

Legislative elections were held in Greece on Sunday, 17 June 2012, to elect all 300 members to the Hellenic Parliament in accordance with the constitution, after all attempts to form a new government failed following the May elections. If all attempts to form a new government fail, the constitution directs the president to dissolve a newly elected parliament, and then to call for new parliamentary elections within 30 days of the dissolution. The president announced at 16 May the date for the new election, and signed the formal decree to dissolve the parliament and call for the election at 19 May.

The Greek government formation of May 2012 was a series of failed attempts to form a new government after the legislative election in May 2012 by the three largest parties: New Democracy (centre-right), Coalition of the Radical Left and Panhellenic Socialist Movement, respectively, and then followed by the President of Greece. After the negotiations led by the president had failed on 15 May, a temporary caretaker cabinet under Council of State president Panagiotis Pikrammenos was appointed on 16 May, and a new election was set for 17 June.

European Parliament elections were held in Greece on 25 May 2014 to elect the 21 Greek members of the European Parliament. The number of seats allocated to Greece declined from 22 to 21, as a result of the 2013 reapportionment of seats in the European Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greek government-debt crisis timeline</span>

The Greek government-debt crisis began in 2009 and, as of November 2017, was still ongoing. During this period, many changes had occurred in Greece. The income of many Greeks has declined, levels of unemployment have increased, elections and resignations of politicians have altered the country's political landscape radically, the Greek parliament has passed many austerity bills, and protests have become common sights throughout the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">September 2015 Greek legislative election</span>

Legislative elections were held in Greece on Sunday, 20 September 2015, following Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' announced resignation on 20 August. At stake were all 300 seats in the Hellenic Parliament. This was a snap election, the sixth since 2007, since new elections were not due until February 2019.

The following lists events that happened during 2015 in Greece.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Cabinet of Alexis Tsipras</span> Greeces Syriza party government (2015)

Following his victory in legislative elections held on 25 January 2015, the newly elected Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras appointed a new cabinet to succeed the cabinet of Antonis Samaras, his predecessor. A significant reshuffle took place on 17 July 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Panagiotis Lafazanis</span> Greek politician

Panagiotis Lafazanis is a Greek politician. He served as the leader of a new Greek left-wing political party, Popular Unity, from 21 August 2015 until his resignation on 2 June 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Euclid Tsakalotos</span> Greek economist and politician

Euclid Stefanou Tsakalotos is a Greek economist and politician who was Minister of Finance of Greece from 2015 to 2019. He was also a member of the Central Committee of Syriza and has represented Athens B in the Hellenic Parliament since May 2012. He left Syriza in November 2023 and on 5 December 2023 he became founding member of New Left (Greece) parliamentary group.

Following the January 2015 Greek election, the leader of the largest party SYRIZA, Alexis Tsipras, was charged with forming a coalition government.

Olga-Nadia Valavani is a Greek politician and economist. She was appointed to the role of Alternate Minister of Finance in the cabinet of Alexis Tsipras on 27 January 2015. She resigned from this role on 15 July 2015, before a significant vote on the terms of a bailout package in the Hellenic Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maria Kollia-Tsaroucha</span> Greek politician

Maria Kollia Tsaroucha is a Greek politician from Serres. She was Deputy Minister for Macedonia and Thrace and later Deputy Minister for National Defence between 2015 and 2019 in the First and Second Cabinets of Alexis Tsipras. She was also a Member of Parliament with New Democracy and the Independent Greeks from 2000 to 2019, during which she was Deputy Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament from 2012 to 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caretaker Cabinet of Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou</span> Caretaker cabinet of Greece in 2015

The Caretaker Cabinet of Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou was formed following the resignation of the Syriza-ANEL coalition government on 20 August 2015, and the failure of opposition parties to form their own government. The cabinet was headed by Thanou-Christophilou, the President of the Court of Cassation, who was sworn in as Prime Minister on 27 August 2015, and the rest of the cabinet were sworn in the next day on 28 August. The cabinet remained in office until the completion of the legislative election on 20 September 2015.

Dimitris Kammenos is a Greek politician who served for less than one day as Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, Transport and Networks in the Second Tsipras Cabinet.

References

  1. "Greek gov't survives vote of no confidence but loses an MP | Kathimerini" . Retrieved 2018-09-24.
  2. Smith, Helena (21 September 2015). "Tsipras meeting with Independent Greeks leader now". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Η σύνθεση της Κυβέρνησης [Composition of the Government] (in Greek). Archived from the original on 6 June 2017. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  4. Ανάθεση αρμοδιοτήτων στην Αναπληρώτρια Υπουργό Εργασίας και Κοινωνικής Αλληλεγγύης Ουρανίας Αντωνοπούλου [Delegation of authority to the Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Solidarity Ourania Antonopoulou](PDF) (in Greek). Prime Minister of Greece. 16 February 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  5. Καθορισμός σειράς τάξης των Υπουργείων [Sequencing order of Ministries](PDF) (in Greek). Prime Minister of Greece. 17 February 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  6. washingtonpost.com: Greece: Wealthy minister quits after rent subsidy furor
  7. Καθορισμός σειράς προβαδίσματος των Υπουργών Επικρατείας [Precedence order of State Ministers](PDF) (in Greek). Prime Minister of Greece. 2 February 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  8. "New Syriza/Independent Greeks coalition government inaugurated". To Vima. 23 September 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2015.