Greece

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Greece Image File history File links COA_of_Greece. ... Politics of Greece takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Greece is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. ...

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The Presidium 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 Hellenic Parliament (Greek: Βουλή των Ελλήνων; transliterated Vouli ton Ellinon; literally Council of the Greeks) is the parliament of Greece, located in Syntagma Square in Athens. ... The Conference of Presidents is a collective institution of the Hellenic Parliament. ... The Parliament of Greece naturally assumes legislative responsibilities within the framework of the state, a key part of this parliamentary process (in any liberal democracy) is the establishment and running of Parliamentary committees on all manner of state decisions. ... Note on Greek names: There is no firm convention for the rendering of Greek personal names into English. ... Konstantínos Alexandrou Karamanlís (Κωνσταντίνος Αλεξάνδρου Καραμανλής, in Greek; generally known as Costas Caramanlis, Costas Karamanlis, or Kóstas Karamanlís, born September 14, 1956) became Prime Minister of Greece on March 10, 2004 following his partys victory in the March 7 parliamentary elections. ... This is a list of presidents of Greece. ... Karolos Papoulias Karolos Papoulias (Greek: Κάρολος Παπούλιας) is the President of the Hellenic Republic, former minister and member of the Hellenic parliament. ... The cabinet of Greece is comprised of the heads of the major ministries. ... In Greece, the independence of the justice is safeguarded by the Constitution. ... In Greece, the Supreme Special Court (Greek: Ανώτατο Ειδικό Δικαστήριο) is provided for in the article 100 of the Constitution. ... The Court of Cassation is the Supreme Court of Greece. ... In Greece, the Counil of State (sometimes Counsel of State or State Council, Greek: Συμβούλιο της Επικρατείας) is, at the same time, an administrative organ (one of the three Big Bodies of the greek Public Administration) and the Supreme Administrative Court. ... In Greece, the Chamber of Accounts (or Court of Accounts or Court of Auditors or Audit Court, French: Cour des Comptes , Greek: Ελεγκτικό Συνέδριο) is, at the same time, an administrative organ (one of the three Big Bodies of the greek Public Administration) and a Supreme Administrative Court with a special jursdiction... The peripheries (περιφέρειες) are the subnational divisions of Greece. ... The super-prefectures of Greece are a second-degree organization of local self-government and an administrative division between the peripheries and the prefectures. ... Greece consists of 13 administrative regions known as Peripheries of Greece, which are further subdivided into 51 prefectures (nomoi, singular - nomos, Greek: νομοί, νομός)): See also List of the prefectures of Greece by area List of the prefectures of Greece by population density List of the prefectures of Greece by population External... Communities and municipalities of Greece are one of several levels of government within the organizational structure of that country. ... Elections in Greece gives information on election and election results in Greece. ... Legislative elections were held in Greece on March 7, 2004. ... The 2006 Greek local elections will elect representatives to Greeces 3 super-prefectures, 54 prefectures, provinces, and approximately 1,033 communities and municipalities. ... Under the current electoral system, a party needs to surpass a 3% threshold in the popular vote in order to enter parliament. ... The European Union or EU is a supranational and international organization of 27 member states. ... Greece was elected by the United Nations General Assembly to the United Nations Security Council, on 15 October 2004 , as a non-permanent member for 2005 and 2006. ... Information on politics by country is available for every country, including both de jure and de facto independent states, inhabited dependent territories, as well as areas of special sovereignty. ... The Hellenic Parliament (Greek: Βουλή των Ελλήνων; transliterated Vouli ton Ellinon; literally Council of the Greeks) is the parliament of Greece, located in Syntagma Square in Athens. ... The Syntagma (Σύνταγμα), the Constitution of Greece is resolved by the Fifth Revisionary Parliament of the Hellenes and entered into force in 1975. ...

Organization

The Presidium is comprised of:

• The Speaker of Parliament.
• Five Deputy speakers.
• Three Deans.
• Six Secretaries.

It is mandatory that the fourth Deputy Speaker, a dean and a secretary belong to the opposition party, and that the fifth Deputy Speaker and a secretary belong to the second-in-power opposition party. A member of the Presidium, who of course must be a parliamentarian, cannot be a member of the Cabinet or an Under-Secretary.

Significance

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 (i.e. by 151 votes). 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 by the Constitution, the Standing Orders, or stemming from the principle of independence of the Parliament. In other words, the Speaker has the final say on all matters that concern the inner workings of the Parliament. Additionally, the Speaker replaces 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 duties for any reason whatsoever.

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.

Since the entry in force of the Constitution of 1975, the office of the Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament has been held by the following indivuduals: Constantine Papaconstantinou, Demetrios Papaspirou, Ioannis Alevras, Athanassios Tsaldaris and Apostolos Kaklamanis.