Speaker of the Hellenic Parliament

President of the Boule of the Hellenes

Πρόεδρος της Βουλής των Ελλήνων

Incumbent
Konstantinos Tasoulas

since 18 July 2019

Style| The Honourable
Appointer| Hellenic Parliament
Term length| Four years, renewable
Inaugural holder| Nikitas Stamatelopoulos
Formation| 1844; 180 years ago (1844)
Current Constitution:
11 June 1975; 49 years ago (1975-06-11)
Website| Official Website
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The speaker of the Hellenic Parliament (Greek: Πρόεδρος της Βουλής των Ελλήνων, lit. 'President of the Boule of the Hellenes') 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.

The incumbent speaker is Konstantinos Tasoulas of New Democracy.

## Constitutional powers

[edit]

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.

## List of speakers

[edit]

### Provisional government of the War of Independence, 1821–1827

[edit]

This includes the presidents of the various Greek National Assemblies and the Legislative Corps (Βουλευτικό) during the Greek War of Independence.

Note: all dates are Old Style
Name  | Entered office  | Left office  | Office  | Comments

|
|
|
|

Alexandros Mavrokordatos | December 20, 1821  | January 15, 1822  | President of the First National Assembly at Epidaurus |
Dimitrios Ypsilantis | January 15, 1822  | March 17, 1823  | President of the Legislative Corps  |
Petrobey Mavromichalis | March 30, 1823  | April 18, 1823  | President of the Second National Assembly at Astros |
Ioannis Orlandos | April 26, 1823  | May 22, 1823  | President of the Legislative Corps  |
Alexandros Mavrokordatos | July 12, 1823  | July 14, 1823  | President of the Legislative Corps  |
Panoutsos Notaras | October 11, 1824  | April 6, 1826  | President of the Legislative Corps  |
Georgios Sisinis | March 19, 1827  | May 5, 1827  | President of the Third National Assembly at Troezen |

### First Hellenic Republic, 1827–1832

[edit]

This includes the presidents of the National Assemblies and the various legislative bodies under Governor Ioannis Kapodistrias and his successors.

Note: all dates are Old Style

Presidents of the National Assemblies and the Parliament (Βουλή)
Name  | Entered office  | Left office  | Office  | Comments

|
|
|
|

Nikolaos Renieris [el] | July 20, 1827  | January, 1828  | President of the Parliament  |
Georgios Sisinis | July 11, 1829  | August 6, 1829  | President of the Fourth National Assembly at Argos |
Dimitrios Tsamados | December 5, 1831  | December 8, 1831  | President of the Fifth National Assembly at Argos  |
December 15, 1831  | March 17, 1832  | President of the Fifth National Assembly at Nafplion |
Panoutsos Notaras | June 11, 1832  | August 20, 1832  | President of the Fifth National Assembly at Nafplion  |

Presidents of the Senate (Γερουσία)
Name  | Entered office  | Left office  | Comments

|
|
|

Georgios Sisinis | September 12, 1829  | June 15, 1830  |
Dimitrios Tsamados | June 16, 1830  | December 1831  |

### Reign of King Otto, 1843–1862

[edit]

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 3 September 1843 Revolution forced Otto to grant a constitution, which was promulgated by the "3rd of September" National Assembly [el]. The new constitution provided for a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral parliament composed of the Senate (Γερουσία) and the Parliament (Βουλή).

#### Presidents of the Parliament

[edit]

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).

Note: all dates are Old Style
Name  | Entered office  | Left office  | Party  | Comments

|
|
|
|

Nikitas Stamatelopoulos | September 7, 1844  | December 20, 1844  | Russian Party | honorary president pro tempore
Kanellos Deligiannis | December 20, 1844  | October 31, 1845  | French Party |
Rigas Palamidis [el] | December 19, 1845  | April 14, 1847  | French Party |
Dimitrios Kallifronas [el] | September 2, 1847  | September 10, 1848  | French Party |
Dimitrios Chatziskos [el] | November 13, 1848  | October 5, 1849  | French Party |
Antonios Georgantas | December 21, 1849  | July 27, 1850  | English Party |
Lazaros Giourdis | December 20, 1850  | October 30, 1852  |  |
Efstratios Parisis | November 6, 1852  | October 27, 1853  |  |
Panagiotis Varvoglis [el] | December 30, 1853  | April 20, 1854  |  | Parliament dismissed by King Otto and not reconvened for 8 months
Thrasyvoulos Zaimis | February 2, 1855  | October 25, 1855  |  |
Alexandros Koumoundouros | November 9, 1855  | June 27, 1856  |  | Resigned
Ioannis Zarkos | June 28, 1856  | October 1856  |  |
Alexandros Kontostavlos | December 7, 1856  | June 6, 1857  |  | Initially president pro tempore, he was formally elected on 28 January 1857
Dimitrios Boudouris [el] | October 30, 1857  | 1858  |  |
Andreas Avgerinos | November 23, 1858  | May 24, 1859  |  |
Andreas Londos | December 17, 1859  | May 18, 1860  |  |
Thrasyvoulos Zaimis  | October 30, 1860  | November 16, 1860  |  | Opposition candidate, his election led to the dismissal of parliament by the King
Anargyros Chatzianargyrou [el] | March 22, 1861  | August 11, 1861  |  |
Filon Filonos [el] | October 4, 1861  | May 1862  |  |
Leonidas Petimezas [el] | May 10, 1862  | September 11, 1862  |  | Last president of the Ottonian period, following Otto's ouster in a revolution on October 10, 1862

#### Presidents of the Senate

[edit]

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.

Note: all dates are Old Style
Name  | Entered office  | Left office  | Party  | Comments

|
|
|
|

Georgios Kountouriotis | September 26, 1844  | April 8, 1847  | French Party |
Anagnostis Deligiannis [el] | September 17, 1847  | October 17, 1853  |  |
Anagnostis Monarchidis [el] | November 23, 1853  | August 11, 1861  |  |

### First period of the Constitutional monarchy, 1863–1924

[edit]

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.

Note: all dates are Old Style
Name  | Entered office  | Left office  | Party  | Comments

|
|
|
|

Dimitrios Kriezis | December 10, 1862  | January 17, 1863  |  | President pro tempore of the Second National Assembly [el]
Zinovios Valvis | January 17, 1863  | February 17, 1863  |  | 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.
Aristidis Moraitinis | February 17, 1863  | May 20, 1863  |  | One of the original four vice-presidents of the Second National Assembly
Diomidis Kyriakos | May 20, 1863  | July 20, 1863  |  | One of the original four vice-presidents of the Second National Assembly
Aristidis Moraitinis  | July 20, 1863  | October 28, 1863  |  | President of the Second National Assembly
Ioannis Messinezis [el] | October 28, 1863  | April 11, 1864  |  | President of the Second National Assembly
Epameinondas Deligeorgis | April 11, 1864  | August 13, 1864  |  | President of the Second National Assembly
Ioannis Messinezis  | August 13, 1864  | November 16, 1864  |  | President of the Second National Assembly until its dissolution
Efthymios Kechagias [el] | July 8, 1865  | January 5, 1866  |  | President of the parliament resulting from the 1865 elections
January 10, 1866  | December 14, 1866  |  |
Lykourgos Krestenitis | December 14, 1866  | September 25, 1867  |  |
Iakovos Paximadis [el] | September 25, 1867  | December 21, 1867  |  |
Triandafyllos Lazaretos [el] | June 24, 1868  | November 18, 1868  |  | President of the parliament resulting from the 1868 elections
Dimitrios Drosos [el] | November 18, 1868  | March 17, 1869  |  |
Dimitrios Christidis | July 12, 1869  | December 17, 1870  |  | President of the parliament resulting from the 1869 elections
Konstantinos Lomvardos [el] | December 17, 1870  | October 25, 1871  |  |
Dimitrios Chatziskos [el] | October 25, 1871  | December 28, 1871  |  |
Spyridon Milios | June 7, 1872  | November 28, 1872  |  | President of the parliament resulting from the 1872 elections
Ioannis Deligiannis | May 11, 1873  | January 30, 1874  |  | President of the parliament resulting from the 1873 elections
Thrasyvoulos Zaimis | January 20, 1874  | April 24, 1874  |  |
Ioannis Zarkos [el] | November 14, 1874  | December 3, 1874  |  | President of the parliament resulting from the 1874 elections
Stylianos Kasimatis | March 20, 1875  | May 19, 1875  |  |
Alexandros Koumoundouros | October 9, 1875  | October 15, 1875  |  | President of the parliament resulting from the 1875 elections
Thrasyvoulos Zaimis  | October 4, 1876  | March 18, 1877  |  |
Andreas Avgerinos | May 16, 1877  | October 18, 1878  |  |
Sotirios Sotiropoulos | October 18, 1878  | July 6, 1879  |  |
Nikolaos Papamichalopoulos [el] | July 6, 1879  | July 14, 1879  |  |
Sotirios Sotiropoulos  | November 29, 1879  | October 10, 1880  |  | President of the parliament resulting from the 1879 elections
Andreas Avgerinos  | October 10, 1880  | October 22, 1881  |  |
Spyridon Valaoritis [el] | February 26, 1882  | November 4, 1883  |  | President of the parliament resulting from the 1881 elections
Pavlos Kalligas | November 4, 1883  | February 11, 1885  |  |
Dimitrios Kallifronas [el] | June 26, 1885  | October 12, 1885  |  | President of the parliament resulting from the 1885 elections
Antonios Rikakis [el] | October 12, 1885  | May 8, 1886  |  |
Stefanos Stefanopoulos | May 8, 1886  | November 5, 1886  |  |
Andreas Avgerinos  | February 22, 1887  | August 17, 1890  |  | President of the parliament resulting from the 1887 elections
Konstantinos Konstantopoulos | December 15, 1890  | February 18, 1891  |  | President of the parliament resulting from the 1890 elections
Nikolaos Georgiadis [el] | November 15, 1891  | March 12, 1892  |
Vasilios Voudouris | June 8, 1892  | February 20, 1895  |  | President of the parliament resulting from the 1892 elections
Alexandros Zaimis | May 29, 1895  | November 3, 1897  |  | President of the parliament resulting from the 1895 elections
Alexandros Romas | November 3, 1897  | December 9, 1898  |  |
Nikolaos Tsamados | April 2, 1899  | November 6, 1900  |  | President of the parliament resulting from the 1899 elections
Nikolaos Boufidis [el] | November 6, 1900  | November 8, 1901  |  |
Theodoros Retsinas [el] | November 8, 1901  | September 19, 1902  |  |
Dimitrios Rallis | February 5, 1903  | June 18, 1903  |  | President of the parliament resulting from the 1902 elections
Nikolaos Leonidas | June 18, 1903  | December 15, 1903  |  |
Nikolaos Chatziskos | December 15, 1903  | December 12, 1904  |  |
Alexandros Romas  | April 7, 1905  | November 28, 1905  |  | President of the parliament resulting from the 1905 elections
Nikolaos Boufidis  | November 28, 1905  | February 1, 1906  |  |
May 8, 1906  | November 18, 1906  |  | President of the parliament resulting from the 1906 elections
Nikolaos Levidis [el] | November 18, 1906  | October 12, 1908  |  |
Konstantinos Koumoundouros | October 12, 1908  | September 24, 1909  |  |
Alexandros Romas  | September 24, 1909  | February 4, 1910  |  |
Nikolaos Tsamados  | February 4, 1910  | July 1, 1910  |  |
Konstantinos Esslin [el] (von Hößlin)  | September 27, 1910  | October 12, 1910  |  | President of the First Revisionary Parliament, resulting from the August 1910 elections
Nikolaos Stratos | January 24, 1911  | July 7, 1911  |  | President of the Second Revisionary Parliament, resulting from the November 1910 elections
Ioannis Tsirimokos | July 7, 1911  | December 21, 1911  |  | President of the Second Revisionary Parliament
August 19, 1912  | October 2, 1912  |  | President of the parliament resulting from the 1912 elections
Konstantinos Zavitsianos [el] | October 2, 1912  | February 25, 1915  | Liberal Party |
August 3, 1915  | October 25, 1915  | Liberal Party | President of the parliament resulting from the May 1915 elections
Michail Theotokis [el] | January 22, 1916  | June 9, 1916  |  | President of the parliament resulting from the December 1915 elections
Themistoklis Sophoulis | July 20, 1917  | September 10, 1920  | Liberal Party | President of the restored 1915 parliament ("Lazarus Parliament")
Konstantinos Argasaris–Lomvardos | January 18, 1921  | September 15, 1922  |  | President of the Third National Assembly [el], resulting from the 1920 elections
Eleftherios Venizelos | January 5, 1924  | January 11, 1924  | Liberal Party | President of the Fourth National Assembly [el], resulting from the 1923 elections

### Second Hellenic Republic, 1924–1935

[edit]

The Fourth National Assembly [el], resulting from the December 1923 elections, declared the abolition of the monarchy and constituted itself as the Fourth Constitutional Assembly on 25 March 1924. It was abolished on 30 September 1925 after the coup d'état led by Theodoros Pangalos on 26 June 1925, and the first regular parliament of the Second Hellenic Republic came about only after Pangalos' fall, with the 1926 elections. The new parliament voted the Constitution of 1927, which also re-established the Senate, for which the first elections were held in 1929.

#### Presidents of the Parliament

[edit]

Name  | Entered office  | Left office  | Party  | Comments

|
|
|
|

Konstantinos Raktivan | January 21, 1924  | September 30, 1925  | Liberal Party | President of the Fourth National Assembly [el]
Themistoklis Sophoulis | December 6, 1926  | July 9, 1928  | Liberal Party | President of the parliament resulting from the 1926 elections
Ioannis Tsirimokos | October 19, 1928  | July 3, 1930  | Liberal Party | President of the parliament resulting from the 1928 elections
Themistoklis Sophoulis  | November 17, 1930  | August 20, 1932  | Liberal Party |
November 2, 1932  | January 24, 1933  | President of the parliament resulting from the 1932 elections
Charalambos Vozikis [el] | March 30, 1933  | April 1, 1935  | People's Party | President of the parliament resulting from the 1933 elections
July 1, 1935  | October 10, 1935  | President of the Fifth National Assembly, resulting from the 1935 elections. Dissolved by General Georgios Kondylis following his coup d'état on 10 October
Themistoklis Sophoulis  | March 6, 1936  | August 4, 1936  | Liberal Party | President of the parliament resulting from the 1936 elections (Third Revisionary). Dissolved by Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas, establishment of the 4th of August Regime

#### Presidents of the Senate

[edit]

Name  | Entered office  | Left office  | Party  | Comments

|
|
|
|

Alexandros Zaimis | May 22, 1929  | December 14, 1929  | None  | Resigned after his election as President of the Republic
Leonidas Paraskevopoulos | March 18, 1930  | August 19, 1932  | None, but pro-Liberal Party |
Stylianos Gonatas | November 4, 1932  | April 1, 1935  | Liberal Party | Senate abolished by the Panagis Tsaldaris government, following the suppression of a pro-Venizelist and pro-Republican coup attempt

### Second period of the Constitutional monarchy, 1946–1967

[edit]

This includes the post-World War II period up to the establishment of the Greek military junta of 1967–1974.

Name  | Entered office  | Left office  |  | Party  | Comments

|
|
|
|
|

Ioannis Theotokis | April 4, 1946  | November 30, 1949  |  | People's Party |
Praxitelis Moutzouridis [el] | December 1, 1949  | January 8, 1950  |  | People's Party |
Dimitrios Gontikas | April 4, 1950  | October 10, 1952  |  | Liberal Party |
Ioannis Makropoulos [el] | December 15, 1952  | November 16, 1953  |  | Greek Rally |
Konstantinos Rodopoulos [el] | November 16, 1953  | September 26, 1963  |  | Greek Rally |
| National Radical Union
Ilias Tsirimokos | December 17, 1963  | January 8, 1964  |  | Center Union |
Georgios Athanasiadis-Novas | March 19, 1964  | July 15, 1965  |  | Center Union | Resigned after being nominated for PM by King Constantine II, beginning the Apostasia
Emmanouil Baklantzis | April 30, 1965  | September 25, 1965  |  | Center Union | President pro tempore
Dimitrios Papaspyrou [el] | November 15, 1965  | April 14, 1967  |  | National Radical Union | Parliament dissolved following coup d'état

### Third Hellenic Republic, 1974 to the present

[edit]

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.

Portrait  | Name  | Entered office  | Left office  | Party  | Comments

|
|
|
|
|

| Konstantinos Papakonstantinou [el] | December 9, 1974  | October 22, 1977  |  | New Democracy | Parliament (Fifth Revisionary) resulting from the 1974 elections
| Dimitrios Papaspyrou [el] | December 12, 1977  | September 19, 1981  |  | New Democracy | Parliament resulting from the 1977 elections
| Ioannis Alevras | November 17, 1981  | May 7, 1985  |  | Panhellenic Socialist Movement | Parliament resulting from the 1981 elections
June 18, 1985  | June 2, 1989  | Parliament (Sixth Revisionary) resulting from the 1985 elections
| Athanasios Tsaldaris [el] | July 7, 1989  | October 12, 1989  |  | New Democracy | Parliament resulting from the June 1989 elections
November 23, 1989  | March 12, 1990  | Parliament resulting from the November 1989 elections
April 22, 1990  | September 11, 1993  | Parliament resulting from the 1990 elections
| Apostolos Kaklamanis | October 22, 1993  | August 24, 1996  |  | Panhellenic Socialist Movement | Parliament resulting from the 1993 elections
October 8, 1996  | March 14, 2000  | Parliament resulting from the 1996 elections
April 21, 2000  | February 11, 2004  | Parliament (Seventh Revisionary) resulting from the 2000 elections
| Anna Benaki-Psarouda | March 19, 2004  | August 18, 2007  |  | New Democracy | Parliament resulting from the 2004 elections, first female speaker
| Dimitris Sioufas | September 27, 2007  | September 7, 2009  |  | New Democracy | Parliament (Eighth Revisionary) resulting from the 2007 elections
| Philippos Petsalnikos | October 15, 2009  | April 11, 2012  |  | Panhellenic Socialist Movement | Parliament resulting from the 2009 elections
| Vyron Polydoras | May 18, 2012  | May 19, 2012  |  | New Democracy | Parliament resulting from the May 2012 elections
| Vangelis Meimarakis | June 29, 2012  | December 31, 2014  |  | New Democracy | Parliament resulting from the June 2012 elections
| Zoi Konstantopoulou | February 6, 2015  | August 28, 2015  |  | Coalition of the Radical Left | Parliament resulting from the January 2015 elections
| Nikos Voutsis | October 4, 2015  | June 11, 2019  |  | Coalition of the Radical Left | Parliament resulting from the September 2015 elections
| Konstantinos Tasoulas | July 18, 2019  | April 22, 2023  |  | New Democracy | Parliament resulting from the 2019 elections
May 29, 2023  | Parliament resulting from May 2023 elections
July 4, 2023  | Incumbent | Parliament resulting from the June 2023 elections

## See also

[edit]

* History of modern Greece
* Politics of Greece

## Sources

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Speakers of the Hellenic Parliament.

* Πρόεδροι της Βουλής και των Εθνοσυνελεύσεων, 1821–2008 [Presidents of Parliament and the National Assemblies, 1821–2008] (PDF) (in Greek). Hellenic Parliament Foundation for Parliamentarism and Democracy. 2009. ISBN 978-960-6757-16-7. `{{cite book}}`: External link in ``|publisher=`` (help)

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