Constantine Tassoulas was on Wednesday elected President of the Hellenic Republic, with 160 votes.
After a roll-call vote, and out of 274 MPs present, 160 MPs voted for the former president of the Hellenic Parliament, while main opposition PASOK candidate Tasos Giannitsis received 34 votes, SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance candidate Louka Katseli 29 votes and NIKI candidate Konstantinos Kyriakou received 14 votes.
A total of 39 MPs abstained but were recorded as "present", while 24 MPs from the New Left, Plefsi Eleftherias and the independent members of the Movement for Change were abstent from the session as a sign of protest against Tassoulas' candidacy.
Tassoulas's swearing-in ceremony will take place on March 13, 2025, when the term of office of current President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou is ending.
A lawyer by profession, Constantine Tassoulas was born in Ioannina in 1959, is married and has two children. Since 2000, he has been elected as a member of parliament with the New Democracy party. In 2007, he was appointed Deputy Minister of National Defence, in 2010 he was elected Secretary General of the New Democracy Parliamentary Group, in 2014 he was appointed Minister of Culture and Sports until January 2015, while in 2018 he was appointed General Rapporteur of the New Democracy party for the Constitutional Revision.
In 2019, he was elected President of the Hellenic Parliament, a position to which he was re-elected in May 2023 and for a third time in July 2023.
Political/Social Activities
He was the private secretary of the late honorary president of New Democracy Evangelos Averoff-Tositsa from 1981 until 1990 and a special advisor to the Ministries of National Economy, Trade and Agriculture (1989-1990).
He then served as president of the Export Promotion Organisation (OPE) from 1990 to 1993.
He was elected a municipal councillor of the Municipality of Kifissia in 1990. In 1994, he was elected mayor of Kifissia.
In June 2013, he was appointed president of the "Constantine Karamanlis" Democracy Institute.
Tassoulas: 'Unity is the "invisible thread" that unites us'
The new President-elect of the Hellenic Republic, Constantine Tassoulas, on Wednesday stated that he will be a guarantor of national unity, while addressing the parliament after the vote for his election on Wednesday. Tassoulas, after thanking the parliament president for the official announcement of his election, stated that "it is a supreme honour for me, but above all it is a heavy, weighty responsibility," and asked "to convey to the national delegation, of which I had the honour to be a member for the last 25 years, my sincere thanks for my election to the position of President of the Hellenic Republic according to the Constitution".
Tassoulas pointed out that "having participated in public life in various capacities for an even greater number of decades now, I am well aware of the possibilities of politics, which is based on popular sovereignty. Opportunities to offer work and an example, so that our country - the country of us all, regardless of ideology - and our people progress. But I am also well aware of the weaknesses of politics, which can only be set aside, to the extent possible, by joint effort, national and social cohesion. By seeking more widely accepted solutions that stem from genuine dialogue. Not only within Parliament but also with society. Solutions that convince the many that reasonable demands and sober and often stern social criticism can be turned into corrective or reforming policies."
He also underlined that "Greece and the Greek people have justified demands of their representatives. Demands for, among other things, national security and integrity. Progress. Social protection. Civil protection - how timely that is. Justice, also, as we see so poignantly and justifiably today also. To serve these demands, which are no more than critical constitutional dictates for the State, is the task of the political parties that, based on the rule of the majority, take over the government of the country at each time".
Refering to his own mission as president, he said that to preserve "as mild a political atmosphere as possible" and to maintain "a climate of unity" will serve as "valuable and helpful frameworks for the success of political pursuits and the usefulness of political contests". He also added that "the President of the Hellenic Republic as a regulator of the state is called upon, among other things, to seek the consolidation of this exact framework, outside and away from any party rivalry, moving within the defined framework of his Constitutional role. And highlighting, now and then, exactly the need to preserve this 'invisible thread' which in the very big and important things never ceases to unite us. The President of the Republic has this duty historically, under the law and within the state. It is a duty to the Greek people, to the guarantor of the state, and to the Constitution, which we all respect."
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