Constitution:
11 June 1975; amended March 1986 and April 2001
Legal system:
based on codified Roman law; judiciary divided into civil,
criminal, and administrative courts
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal and compulsory
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Konstandinos (Kostis) STEPHANOPOULOS
(since 10 March 1995)
elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term;
election last held 8 February 2000 (next to be held by NA February
2005); prime minister appointed by the president
head of government: Prime Minister Konstandinos SIMITIS (since 19
January 1996)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of
the prime minister
election results: Konstandinos STEPHANOPOULOS reelected president;
percent of Parliament vote - 90%
Legislative branch:
unicameral Parliament or Vouli ton Ellinon (300 seats; members are
elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: elections last held 9 April 2000 (next to be held by NA
May 2004)
election results: percent of vote by party - PASOK 43.8%, ND 42.7%,
KKE 5.5%, Coalition of the Left and Progress 3.2%; seats by party -
PASOK 158, ND 125, KKE 11, Coalition of the Left and Progress 6;
note - seats by party as of January 2002 - PASOK 156, ND 122, KKE
11, Coalition of the Left and Progress 6, independents 5
Judicial branch:
Supreme Judicial Court; Special Supreme Tribunal; all judges
appointed for life by the president after consultation with a
judicial council
Political parties and leaders:
Coalition of the Left and Progress (Synaspismos) [Nikolaos
KONSTANTOPOULOS]; Communist Party of Greece or KKE [Aleka PAPARIGA];
New Democracy or ND (conservative) [Konstandinos KARAMANLIS];
Panhellenic Socialist Movement or PASOK [Konstandinos SIMITIS]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA
International organization participation:
Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, EMU,
EU, FAO, G- 6, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA,
IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU,
MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW,
OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH,
UNMIK, UNOMIG, UPU, WCO, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Yeoryious SAVVAIDES
consulate(s): Atlanta, Houston, and New Orleans
consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and
San Francisco
FAX: [1] (202) 939-1324
telephone: [1] (202) 939-1300
chancery: 2221 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008