President of the Hellenic Parliament
The president of the Hellenic Parliament is the presiding officer of the Parliament of Greece. The president's term coincides with the term of the assembly, and is chosen by a vote during the opening session, after each legislative election. Following is a list of speakers of the Hellenic Parliament or other national legislative bodies such as the Greek Senate, from the time of the Greek War of Independence till present. The official order of precedence ranks the speaker of the Hellenic Parliament in the 3rd position, after the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister.
The incumbent President is Nikitas Kaklamanis of New Democracy.
Constitutional powers
According to the Constitution of Greece, in the event of a temporary absence of the president of the Hellenic Republic on account of illness, travel abroad or similar circumstances, the speaker of the parliament serves as acting president, and exercises the powers of the state president until the president resumes his functions, and in the event that the presidency falls vacant as a result of death or resignation or for any other reason, until the election of a new president.The election of the Speaker of the Parliament is one of the most important moments in the operation of the Parliament, not only because the office of the Speaker of the Parliament is significant in itself, but also because the secret vote for the election of the Speaker constitutes the first opportunity for the assessment of the cohesiveness of the majority in Parliament. The Speaker is elected by the absolute majority of the total number of the MPs. If this majority is not attained, the vote is repeated, and the candidate who gets the most votes is elected.
Role
The Speaker of the Parliament directs the business of the Parliament, represents the Parliament, is responsible for the enforcement of disciplinary measures against parliamentarians, and generally, is the head of all the services of the Parliament and possesses all the responsibilities bestowed on him or her by the Constitution, the Standing Orders, or stemming from the principle of independence of Parliament. In other words, the Speaker has the final say on all matters that concern the inner workings of Parliament.The Speaker is third in line in the Order of Precedence of the State, following the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister and preceding the leader of the Opposition. Additionally, the Speaker stands in pro tempore for the President of the Republic when the latter is abroad for a prolonged period of time, passes away, resigns, is deposed, or is hindered from performing his or her duties for any reason whatsoever.
Presidium
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. This is provided for by Article 65 of the Constitution of Greece.The Presidium is:
- The President of Parliament
- Seven Deputy speakers
- Three Deans
- Six Secretaries
The Deputy Speakers perform their duties as assigned to them by the Speaker or as provided in the Standing Orders. The Deans assist the Speaker in organizational and executive matters of the Parliament, while the Secretaries assist the Speaker in the Parliamentary sessions and are responsible for whatever else the Speaker assigns to them.
List of presidents
Provisional government of the War of Independence, 1821–1827
This includes the presidents of the various Greek National Assemblies and the Legislative Corps during the Greek War of Independence.| Name | Entered office | Left office | Office | Comments |
| Alexandros Mavrokordatos | December 20, 1821 | January 15, 1822 | President of the First National Assembly at Epidaurus | |
| Dimitrios Ypsilantis | January 15, 1822 | March 17, 1823 | President of the Legislative Corps | |
| Petrobey Mavromichalis | March 30, 1823 | April 18, 1823 | President of the Second National Assembly at Astros | |
| Ioannis Orlandos | April 26, 1823 | May 22, 1823 | President of the Legislative Corps | |
| Alexandros Mavrokordatos | July 12, 1823 | July 14, 1823 | President of the Legislative Corps | |
| Panoutsos Notaras | October 11, 1824 | April 6, 1826 | President of the Legislative Corps | |
| Georgios Sisinis | March 19, 1827 | May 5, 1827 | President of the Third National Assembly at Troezen |
[First Hellenic Republic], 1827–1832
This includes the presidents of the National Assemblies and the various legislative bodies under Governor Ioannis Kapodistrias and his successors.;Presidents of the National Assemblies and the Parliament
| Name | Entered office | Left office | Office | Comments |
| July 20, 1827 | January, 1828 | President of the Parliament | ||
| Georgios Sisinis | July 11, 1829 | August 6, 1829 | President of the Fourth National Assembly at Argos | |
| Dimitrios Tsamados | December 5, 1831 | December 8, 1831 | President of the Fifth National Assembly at Argos | |
| Dimitrios Tsamados | December 15, 1831 | March 17, 1832 | President of the Fifth National Assembly at Nafplion | |
| Panoutsos Notaras | June 11, 1832 | August 20, 1832 | President of the Fifth National Assembly at Nafplion |
;Presidents of the Senate
| Name | Entered office | Left office | Comments |
| Georgios Sisinis | September 12, 1829 | June 15, 1830 | |
| Dimitrios Tsamados | June 16, 1830 | December 1831 |
Reign of King Otto, 1843–1862
When King Otto arrived in Greece, he was still a minor, and until 1835 the country was governed by a regency council. The regents ignored the so-called "" voted by the Fifth National Assembly, and when Otto assumed full powers, he ruled as an absolute monarch. The only "parliamentary" body was the 20-member Council of State, but its role was purely consultative and it was strictly controlled by the King.The 3 September 1843 Revolution forced Otto to grant a constitution, which was promulgated by the. The new constitution provided for a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral parliament composed of the Senate and the Parliament.
Presidents of the Parliament
The Parliament was to have no less than 80 members with a three-year tenure.| Name | Entered office | Left office | Party | Comments |
| Nikitas Stamatelopoulos | September 7, 1844 | December 20, 1844 | Russian Party | honorary president pro tempore |
| Kanellos Deligiannis | December 20, 1844 | October 31, 1845 | French Party | |
| December 19, 1845 | April 14, 1847 | French Party | ||
| September 2, 1847 | September 10, 1848 | French Party | ||
| November 13, 1848 | October 5, 1849 | French Party | ||
| Antonios Georgantas | December 21, 1849 | July 27, 1850 | English Party | |
| Lazaros Giourdis | December 20, 1850 | October 30, 1852 | ||
| Efstratios Parisis | November 6, 1852 | October 27, 1853 | ||
| December 30, 1853 | April 20, 1854 | Parliament dismissed by King Otto and not reconvened for 8 months | ||
| Thrasyvoulos Zaimis | February 2, 1855 | October 25, 1855 | ||
| Alexandros Koumoundouros | November 9, 1855 | June 27, 1856 | Resigned | |
| Ioannis Zarkos | June 28, 1856 | October 1856 | ||
| Alexandros Kontostavlos | December 7, 1856 | June 6, 1857 | Initially president pro tempore, he was formally elected on 28 January 1857 | |
| October 30, 1857 | 1858 | |||
| Andreas Avgerinos | November 23, 1858 | May 24, 1859 | ||
| Andreas Londos | December 17, 1859 | May 18, 1860 | ||
| Thrasyvoulos Zaimis | October 30, 1860 | November 16, 1860 | Opposition candidate, his election led to the dismissal of parliament by the King | |
| March 22, 1861 | August 11, 1861 | |||
| October 4, 1861 | May 1862 | |||
| May 10, 1862 | September 11, 1862 | Last president of the Ottonian period, following Otto's ouster in a revolution on October 10, 1862 |
Presidents of the Senate
The Senate had a minimum of 27 members and could reach 39. Senators had to be over 40 years old, were named by the King and served for life. As a clearly monarchical instrument, it was abolished after 1862.| Name | Entered office | Left office | Party | Comments |
| Georgios Kountouriotis | September 26, 1844 | April 8, 1847 | French Party | |
| Anagnostis Deligiannis | September 17, 1847 | October 17, 1853 | ||
| November 23, 1853 | August 11, 1861 |
First period of the Constitutional monarchy, 1863–1924
After the ousting of King Otto, elections were held to form the, which effectively ran the country until the arrival of King George I in October 1863. The Assembly thereafter promulgated the Constitution of 1864 and dissolved itself on 16 November 1864. The new constitution was liberal, established the principle of popular sovereignty and defined the country's new form of government as a Constitutional monarchy with parliamentary democracy, but retained considerable executive powers for the king. The Senate was abolished, and a unicameral parliament of 181 members with a four-year term was proclaimed as the country's sole legislative body.The first decade was marked by frequent changes of government, especially due to the king's interference. A landmark was the adoption of the "dedilomeni principle", championed by Charilaos Trikoupis, in 1875, which forced the king to appoint only governments that commanded a parliamentary majority and had the "declared confidence of the parliament". The 1880s and 1890s were also marked by political instability. The Goudi coup of 1909 resulted in the arrival of Eleftherios Venizelos and the August 1910 elections for a Revisoniary Parliament. New elections for a new Revisoniary Parliament were held in November, and the Constitution of 1911 was promulgated in June 1911. Political upheaval in the form of the National Schism dominated Greek politics from 1915 on, resulting in the Asia Minor Disaster and the abolition of the monarchy in 1924.
| Name | Entered office | Left office | Party | Comments |
| Dimitrios Kriezis | December 10, 1862 | January 17, 1863 | President pro tempore of the | |
| Zinovios Valvis | January 17, 1863 | February 17, 1863 | President of the Second National Assembly along with four vice-presidents; it was agreed that each of the vice-presidents would in turn occupy the post of president. Valvis headed a provisional government composed of Assembly members from 13 February to 25 March. | |
| Aristidis Moraitinis | February 17, 1863 | May 20, 1863 | One of the original four vice-presidents of the Second National Assembly | |
| Diomidis Kyriakos | May 20, 1863 | July 20, 1863 | One of the original four vice-presidents of the Second National Assembly | |
| Aristidis Moraitinis | July 20, 1863 | October 28, 1863 | President of the Second National Assembly | |
| October 28, 1863 | April 11, 1864 | President of the Second National Assembly | ||
| Epameinondas Deligeorgis | April 11, 1864 | August 13, 1864 | President of the Second National Assembly | |
| Ioannis Messinezis | August 13, 1864 | November 16, 1864 | President of the Second National Assembly until its dissolution | |
| July 8, 1865 | January 5, 1866 | President of the parliament resulting from the 1865 elections | ||
| January 10, 1866 | December 14, 1866 | |||
| Lykourgos Krestenitis | December 14, 1866 | September 25, 1867 | ||
| September 25, 1867 | December 21, 1867 | |||
| June 24, 1868 | November 18, 1868 | President of the parliament resulting from the 1868 elections | ||
| November 18, 1868 | March 17, 1869 | |||
| Dimitrios Christidis | July 12, 1869 | December 17, 1870 | President of the parliament resulting from the 1869 elections | |
| December 17, 1870 | October 25, 1871 | |||
| October 25, 1871 | December 28, 1871 | |||
| Spyridon Milios | June 7, 1872 | November 28, 1872 | President of the parliament resulting from the 1872 elections | |
| Ioannis Deligiannis | May 11, 1873 | January 30, 1874 | President of the parliament resulting from the 1873 elections | |
| Thrasyvoulos Zaimis | January 20, 1874 | April 24, 1874 | ||
| November 14, 1874 | December 3, 1874 | President of the parliament resulting from the 1874 elections | ||
| Stylianos Kasimatis | March 20, 1875 | May 19, 1875 | ||
| Alexandros Koumoundouros | October 9, 1875 | October 15, 1875 | President of the parliament resulting from the 1875 elections | |
| Thrasyvoulos Zaimis | October 4, 1876 | March 18, 1877 | ||
| Andreas Avgerinos | May 16, 1877 | October 18, 1878 | ||
| Sotirios Sotiropoulos | October 18, 1878 | July 6, 1879 | ||
| July 6, 1879 | July 14, 1879 | |||
| Sotirios Sotiropoulos | November 29, 1879 | October 10, 1880 | President of the parliament resulting from the 1879 elections | |
| Andreas Avgerinos | October 10, 1880 | October 22, 1881 | ||
| February 26, 1882 | November 4, 1883 | President of the parliament resulting from the 1881 elections | ||
| Pavlos Kalligas | November 4, 1883 | February 11, 1885 | ||
| June 26, 1885 | October 12, 1885 | President of the parliament resulting from the 1885 elections | ||
| October 12, 1885 | May 8, 1886 | |||
| Stefanos Stefanopoulos | May 8, 1886 | November 5, 1886 | ||
| Andreas Avgerinos | February 22, 1887 | August 17, 1890 | President of the parliament resulting from the 1887 elections | |
| Konstantinos Konstantopoulos | December 15, 1890 | February 18, 1891 | President of the parliament resulting from the 1890 elections | |
| November 15, 1891 | March 12, 1892 | - | ||
| Vasilios Voudouris | June 8, 1892 | February 20, 1895 | President of the parliament resulting from the 1892 elections | |
| Alexandros Zaimis | May 29, 1895 | November 3, 1897 | President of the parliament resulting from the 1895 elections | |
| Alexandros Romas | November 3, 1897 | December 9, 1898 | ||
| Nikolaos Tsamados | April 2, 1899 | November 6, 1900 | President of the parliament resulting from the 1899 elections | |
| November 6, 1900 | November 8, 1901 | |||
| November 8, 1901 | September 19, 1902 | |||
| Dimitrios Rallis | February 5, 1903 | June 18, 1903 | President of the parliament resulting from the 1902 elections | |
| Nikolaos Leonidas | June 18, 1903 | December 15, 1903 | ||
| Nikolaos Chatziskos | December 15, 1903 | December 12, 1904 | ||
| Alexandros Romas | April 7, 1905 | November 28, 1905 | President of the parliament resulting from the 1905 elections | |
| Nikolaos Boufidis | November 28, 1905 | February 1, 1906 | ||
| Nikolaos Boufidis | May 8, 1906 | November 18, 1906 | President of the parliament resulting from the 1906 elections | |
| November 18, 1906 | October 12, 1908 | |||
| Konstantinos Koumoundouros | October 12, 1908 | September 24, 1909 | ||
| Alexandros Romas | September 24, 1909 | February 4, 1910 | ||
| Nikolaos Tsamados | February 4, 1910 | July 1, 1910 | ||
| September 27, 1910 | October 12, 1910 | President of the First Revisionary Parliament, resulting from the August 1910 elections | ||
| Nikolaos Stratos | January 24, 1911 | July 7, 1911 | President of the Second Revisionary Parliament, resulting from the November 1910 elections | |
| Ioannis Tsirimokos | July 7, 1911 | December 21, 1911 | President of the Second Revisionary Parliament | |
| Ioannis Tsirimokos | August 19, 1912 | October 2, 1912 | President of the parliament resulting from the 1912 elections | |
| October 2, 1912 | February 25, 1915 | Liberal Party | ||
| August 3, 1915 | October 25, 1915 | Liberal Party | President of the parliament resulting from the May 1915 elections | |
| January 22, 1916 | June 9, 1916 | President of the parliament resulting from the December 1915 elections | ||
| Themistoklis Sophoulis | July 20, 1917 | September 10, 1920 | Liberal Party | President of the restored 1915 parliament |
| Konstantinos Argasaris–Lomvardos | January 18, 1921 | September 15, 1922 | President of the, resulting from the 1920 elections | |
| Eleftherios Venizelos | January 5, 1924 | January 11, 1924 | Liberal Party | President of the, resulting from the 1923 elections |
Second Hellenic Republic, 1924–1935
The Fourth National Assembly of the Greece, resulting from the December 1923 elections, declared the abolition of the monarchy and constituted itself as the Fourth Constitutional Assembly on 25 March 1924. On 30 September 1925, the Parliament was abolished after the 25 June coup d'état led by Theodoros Pangalos. The first regular parliament, after the coup, of the Second Hellenic Republic came about only after Pangalos' fall, with the 1926 elections. The new parliament voted the Constitution of 1927, which also re-established the Senate, for which the first elections were held in 1929.Second period of the Constitutional monarchy, 1946–1967
This includes the post-World War II period up to the establishment of the Greek military junta of 1967–1974.| Name | Entered office | Left office | Party | Comments | |
| Ioannis Theotokis | April 4, 1946 | November 30, 1949 | People's Party | ||
| December 1, 1949 | January 8, 1950 | People's Party | |||
| Dimitrios Gontikas | April 4, 1950 | October 10, 1952 | Liberal Party | ||
| December 15, 1952 | November 16, 1953 | Greek Rally | |||
| November 16, 1953 | September 26, 1963 | Greek Rally | |||
| November 16, 1953 | September 26, 1963 | National Radical Union | |||
| Ilias Tsirimokos | December 17, 1963 | January 8, 1964 | Center Union | ||
| Georgios Athanasiadis-Novas | March 19, 1964 | July 15, 1965 | Center Union | Resigned after being nominated for PM by King Constantine II, beginning the Iouliana | |
| Emmanouil Baklantzis | April 30, 1965 | September 25, 1965 | Center Union | President pro tempore | |
| November 15, 1965 | April 14, 1967 | National Radical Union | Parliament dissolved following coup d'état |
Third Hellenic Republic, 1974 to the present
The fall of the junta brought about a major regime change, which included the abolition of the monarchy by referendum. The strong two-party system of PASOK and New Democracy made the parliamentary life of the Third Hellenic Republic the most regular in Greek political history, with the exception of the 1989–90 political crisis. After 2011, the prevailing political system was shattered through the effects of the prolonged Greek debt crisis, leading to the marginalization of PASOK and the election, for the first time, of a left-wing party, the Coalition of the Radical Left, to power in the January 2015 elections.ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:15
PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:130 left:20
AlignBars = late
Colors =
id:syriza value:rgb legend:Coalition_of_the_Radical_Left_
id:ind value:gray legend:Independent
id:nd value:blue legend:New_Democracy
id:pasok value:kelleygreen legend:Panhellenic_Socialist_Movement_
id:gray1 value:gray
id:gray2 value:gray
Define $today =
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period = from:01/01/1974 till:08/07/2023
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:gray1 unit:year increment:5 start:1975
ScaleMinor = gridcolor:gray2 unit:year increment:1 start:1975
Legend = columns:1 left:205 top:35 columnwidth:75
TextData =
pos: textcolor:black fontsize:M
text:"Political parties:"
BarData =
bar:Papakonstantinou
bar:Papaspyrou
bar:Alevras
bar:Tsaldaris
bar:Kaklamanis
bar:Benaki-Psarouda
bar:Sioufas
bar:Petsalnikos
bar:Polydoras
bar:Meimarakis
bar:Konstantopoulou
bar:Voutsis
bar:Tasoulas
PlotData=
width:8 align:left fontsize:S shift: anchor:till
bar:Papakonstantinou
from: 09/12/1974 till: 22/10/1977 color:nd text:"Papakonstantinou" fontsize:10
bar:Papaspyrou
from: 12/12/1977 till: 19/09/1981 color:nd text:"Papaspyrou" fontsize:10
bar:Alevras
from: 17/11/1981 till: 02/06/1989 color:pasok text:"Alevras" fontsize:10
bar:Tsaldaris
from: 07/07/1989 till: 11/09/1993 color:nd text:"Tsaldaris" fontsize:10
bar:Kaklamanis
from: 22/10/1993 till: 11/02/2004 color:pasok text:"Kaklamanis" fontsize:10
bar:Benaki-Psarouda
from: 19/03/2004 till: 18/08/2007 color:nd text:"Benaki-Psarouda" fontsize:10
bar:Sioufas
from: 27/09/2007 till: 07/09/2009 color:nd text:"Sioufas" fontsize:10
bar:Petsalnikos
from: 15/10/2009 till: 11/04/2012 color:pasok text:"Petsalnikos" fontsize:10
bar:Polydoras
from: 18/05/2012 till: 19/05/2012 color:nd text:"Polydoras" fontsize:10
bar:Meimarakis
from: 29/06/2012 till: 31/12/2014 color:nd text:"Meimarakis" fontsize:10
bar:Konstantopoulou
from: 06/02/2015 till: 21/08/2015 color:syriza
from: 21/08/2015 till: 28/08/2015 color:ind text:"Konstantopoulou" fontsize:10
bar:Voutsis
from: 04/10/2015 till: 11/06/2019 color:syriza text:"Voutsis" fontsize:10
bar:Tasoulas
from: 18/07/2019 till: end color:nd text:"Tasoulas" fontsize:10