Katerina Sakellaropoulou

Her Excellency Katerina Sakellaropoulou
Κατερίνα Σακελλαροπούλου
Sakellaropoulou in 2022
8th President of Greece
Incumbent
Assumed office 13 March 2020
Prime Minister	Kyriakos Mitsotakis Ioannis Sarmas Kyriakos Mitsotakis
Preceded by	Prokopis Pavlopoulos
President of the Council of State
In office 17 October 2018 – 11 February 2020
Vice President	Athanasios Rantos
Preceded by	Nikolaos Sakellariou
Succeeded by	Athanasios Rantos
Vice President of the Council of State
In office 22 October 2015 – 17 October 2018
President	Nikolaos Sakellariou
Preceded by	Nikolaos Sakellariou
Succeeded by	Athanasios Rantos
Personal details
Born	Aikaterini Sakellaropoulou (1956-05-30) 30 May 1956 (age 68) Thessaloniki, Kingdom of Greece
Political party	Independent[a][1]
Domestic partner	Pavlos Kotsonis
Children	1
Residence(s)	Presidential Mansion, Athens
Education	University of Athens University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas
Signature

Katerina Sakellaropoulou (Greek: Κατερίνα Σακελλαροπούλου [kateˈrina sacelaroˈpulu]; born 30 May 1956) is a Greek judge who has been the president of Greece since 13 March 2020.^[2] She was elected by the Hellenic Parliament to succeed Prokopis Pavlopoulos on 22 January 2020. Prior to her election as president, Sakellaropoulou served as president of the Council of State, the highest administrative court of Greece. She is the country's first female president.^[3]

Early life

Sakellaropoulou was born in Thessaloniki. Her parents are Nikolaos Sakellaropoulos, a former vice president of the Greek Supreme Court, and Aliki Paraskeva.^[4] Her family comes from Stavroupoli, a town in Xanthi prefecture. She studied law at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and completed her postgraduate studies in public law at Paris II University. In the mid-1980s, she was admitted to the Council of State and she was promoted to councilor in 2000.^[5]

In October 2015 she was appointed vice-president of the Council of State, and in October 2018 she became the first female president of the court, following a unanimous vote.^[6] Her election came after the Syriza government, which was in power at the time, considered her progressive record on issues such as the environment and human rights.^[7]

She has been a member of the Association of Judiciary Functionaries of the Council of State. During her tenure at the association, she has served as its secretary-general (1985–1986), vice-president (2006–2008), and president (1993–1995, 2000–2001).^[5]

She publishes regularly in academic journals. She has also contributed to the book Financial crisis and environmental protection in the case law of the Council of State (Greek: Οικονομική κρίση και προστασία του περιβάλλοντος στη νομολογία του Συμβουλίου της Επικρατείας), Papazisis Publications, 2017.^[8]

President of Greece

Main article: 2020 Greek presidential election

On 15 January 2020, the Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, nominated her for the post of president of the Hellenic Republic.^[9][10] Though she was chosen as a non-partisan candidate, she was an unexpected choice as her progressive politics conflicted with Mitsotakis' centre-right politics.^[7][11] She was elected to the post on 22 January 2020 with 261 MPs voting in favour in the 300-seat Parliament.^[3]

Sakellaropoulou took office before the Hellenic Parliament on 13 March of that year in a session with few legislators present, as the country was beginning to be severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the first restrictive measures had been ordered.^[12] Upon being sworn in, she became the first woman to serve as Greece's president.^[11]

When parliament was unable to form a government in 2023, Sakellaropoulou appointed Ioannis Sarmas as the head of a caretaker government.^[13]

Her presidency garnered praise for her historic role as the first female president,^[14] yet it also faced heavy criticism for several issues, notably her perceived inaction concerning the violations of rule of law.^[15][16][17] Moreover, her tenure was marked by historically low levels of popularity in presidential history.^[18][19][20]

Political beliefs

Sakellaropoulou is a progressive. She has prioritised issues of environmentalism and minority rights.^[7] She has described the Russian invasion of Ukraine as "a direct and dramatic conflict of values, between freedom and authoritarianism".^[21]

Personal life

Sakellaropoulou lives with her partner, Pavlos Kotsonis, a lawyer.^[22] She has one child from a previous marriage.^[7]

She is an Aris Thessaloniki supporter.^[23]

Honours

Foreign honours

•  Cyprus: Grand Collar of the Order of Makarios III (21 September 2020)
•  Italy: Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (6 October 2020)^[24]
•  Egypt: Grand Collar of Order of the Nile (11 November 2020)
•  Slovenia: Member of the Order for Exceptional Merits (22 April 2021)
•  Portugal: Grand Collar of the Order of Prince Henry (28 March 2022)
•  Belgium: Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold (2 May 2022)^[25]
•  Slovakia: Grand Cross of the Order of the White Double Cross (6 September 2022)^[26]
•  Netherlands: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands Lion (31 October 2022)^[27]
•  Bulgaria: Grand Cross of the Order of the Balkan Mountains (8 December 2022)^[28]
•  Malta: Honorary Companions of Honour with Collar of the National Order of Merit (5 July 2023)^[29]
•  Latvia: Commander Grand Cross with Chain of the Order of the Three Stars (2 July 2024)
•  SMOM: Collar of the Order pro Merito Melitensi (18 October 2024)^[30]

Notes

1. Close to the PASOK party.

References

1. "Αικατερίνη Σακελλαροπούλου: Πώς υποδέχθηκαν τα κόμματα την πρόταση Μητσοτάκη για ΠτΔ". Iefimerida (in Greek). 16 January 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
2. "President – Presidency of the Hellenic Republic". Retrieved 15 March 2020.
3. "Πρόεδρος της Δημοκρατίας εξελέγη η Αικατερίνη Σακελλαροπούλου, του Γιώργου Σ. Μπουρδάρα | Kathimerini". kathimerini.gr (in Greek). 22 January 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
4. "President – Presidency of the Hellenic Republic". Retrieved 1 November 2021.
5. "Ποια είναι η πρώτη γυναίκα πρόεδρος του ΣτΕ, Αικατερίνη Σακελλαροπούλου". news.gr. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
6. "Όλα τα ονόματα των προέδρων και αντιπροέδρων των Ανωτάτων Δικαστηρίων". iefimerida.gr (in Greek). 22 October 2015. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
7. Smith, Helena (2020-01-16). "Progressive judge to become Greece's first female president". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
8. "Αικατερίνη Σακελλαροπούλου". biblionet.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 15 January 2020.
9. "Greek PM taps top female judge as country's president". Reuters. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
10. "Greek PM Taps Top Female Judge as Country's President". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
11. Labropoulou, Elinda (2020-01-22). "Katerina Sakellaropoulou becomes Greece's first woman president". CNN. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
12. Greece’s first female president is sworn in
13. Liakos, Chris (2023-05-24). "Greek president appoints judge as caretaker PM ahead of new elections". CNN. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
14. "Γιατί μου αρέσει η Κατερίνα Σακελλαροπούλου". in.gr (in Greek). 2020-01-20. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
15. "ΠτΔ προς Ανδρουλάκη για τις υποκλοπές: «Τοποθετήθηκα επί της αρχής στο πλαίσιο των αρμοδιοτήτων μου»". euronews (in Greek). 2022-09-21. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
16. ΚΑΡΕΛΙΑΣ, ΓΙΩΡΓΟΣ (2023-12-23). "Θα επιτρέψει η Πρόεδρος να γίνει κουρέλι το Σύνταγμα;". News 24/7 (in Greek). Retrieved 2024-04-04.
17. "Επιλεκτικές ευαισθησίες της κ. Σακελλαροπούλου;". EFSYN.
18. "Public Issue: Εξαιρετικά αρνητική η άποψη των πολιτών για την Κατερίνα Σακελλαροπούλου". Protagon.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 2024-04-04.
19. "Πού οφείλεται η αρνητική εικόνα της Κατερίνας Σακελλαροπούλου; | LiFO". www.lifo.gr (in Greek). 2023-01-27. Retrieved 2024-04-04.
20. Σκουρής, Βασίλης. "Η ρήξη Προεδρίας - Εκκλησίας και οι θεσμικές παρενέργειες: Το παράδειγμα Παπούλια". www.dnews.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 2024-04-04.
21. "Greek president must reconcile high expectations and falling quality of life". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
22. "Το προφίλ της Σακελλαροπούλου: Λάτρης της φύσης, των ταξιδιών και των γατών". star.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 22 January 2020.
23. "Νέα Πρόεδρος της Δημοκρατίας: Η σχέση της Κατερίνας Σακελλαροπούλου με τη Θεσσαλονίκη". metrosport.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 16 January 2020.
24. "Le onorificenze della Repubblica Italiana" (in Italian).
25. "Συνάντηση με τον Βασιλιά και την Βασίλισσα των Βέλγων – Προεδρία της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας" (in Greek).
26. "Δηλώσεις των Προέδρων της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας και της Σλοβακίας Κατερίνας Σακελλαροπούλου και Zuzana Čaputová κατά τη συνάντησή τους στο Προεδρικό Μέγαρο – Προεδρία της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας" (in Greek).
27. Pournara, Margarita (2 November 2022). "A presidential welcome for Dutch royals". Kathimerini. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
28. "Bulgaria's President: The Sooner we Join Schengen, the Sooner we will Strengthen our Border Security with Turkey". Novinite. 8 December 2022. The Bulgarian head of state awarded Katerina Sakellaropoulou with the "Stara Planina" order with a ribbon for her merits for the development of bilateral relations between Bulgaria and Greece.
29. Grigovits, Eleni (2023-07-05). "Κατερίνα Σακελλαροπούλου: Συνάντηση με τον πρόεδρο της Μάλτας με φόντο το μεταναστευτικό". Proto Thema (in Greek).
30. "Δηλώσεις της Προέδρου της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας Κατερίνας Σακελλαροπούλου και του Mεγάλου Μαγίστρου του Κυρίαρχου Στρατιωτικού Νοσοκομειακού Τάγματος του Αγίου Ιωάννη των Ιεροσολύμων, της Ρόδου και της Μάλτας Fra' John Dunlap κατά τη συνάντησή τους στο Προεδρικό Μέγαρο". www.presidency.gr (in Greek). 18 October 2024.

Legal offices
Preceded by Nikolaos Sakellariou	Vice President of the Council of State 2015–2018	Succeeded by Athanasios Rantos
	President of the Council of State 2018–2020
Political offices
Preceded by Prokopis Pavlopoulos	President of Greece 2020–present	Incumbent
Order of precedence
First	Order of precedence of Greece President	Succeeded by Kyriakos Mitsotakis as Prime Minister