The President of the Hellenic Parliament[1] 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.
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 (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 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
[2]
It is mandatory that the fourth Deputy Speaker, one dean and one secretary belong to the major opposition party, and that the fifth Deputy Speaker and one secretary belong to the second-in-power opposition party, and that the sixth Deputy Speaker belong to the third-in-power opposition party, and that the seventh Deputy Speaker belong to the fourth-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.
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
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 "Hegemonic Constitution [fr]" 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 (Συμβούλιο της Επικρατείας), but its role was purely consultative and it was strictly controlled by the King.
The Parliament was to have no less than 80 members (in practice the number was between 127 and 142) with a three-year tenure (in practice some 2,5 years).
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.
First period of the Constitutional monarchy, 1863–1924
After the ousting of King Otto, elections were held to form the Second National Assembly [el], 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 (βασιλευομένη δημοκρατία), but retained considerable executive powers for the king. The Senate was abolished, and a unicameral parliament (Βουλή) 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 (dedilomeni) 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.
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.
The fall of the junta brought about a major regime change (metapolitefsi), 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.
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