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Alexis Tsipras (Greek: Αλέξης Τσίπρας) (born 28 July 1974) is a Greek politician, former Prime Minister of Greece and leader of the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA).[3][4] He was first elected to the Hellenic Parliament in 2009, and was the Party of the European Left nominee for President of the European Commission in the 2014 European Parliament election. In 2015, Tsipras led Syriza victory in snap elections held on January 25, receiving 36% of the vote, and consequently 149 out of the 300 seats in the Greek Parliament.
Alexis Tsipras (*)
Early life and career
Tsipras was born in Athens on 28 July 1974, three days after the fall of the Greek military junta. His father was born in Epirus.[5][6] His mother was born in Eleftheroupoli.[7]
He studied civil engineering at the National Technical University of Athens, graduating in 2000, before undertaking postgraduate studies in Urban and Regional Planning following an inter-departmental MPhil at the School of Architecture of NTUA. Alongside his postgraduate studies, he began working as a civil engineer in the construction industry. He wrote several studies and projects on the theme of the city of Athens.[8][9][10]
He joined the Young Communists Society in the late 1980s. In the early 1990s, he was politically active in the student uprising against the controversial law of then-Education Minister Vasilis Kontogiannopoulos, as a student of Ampelokipoi Branch High School. He rose to prominence as a representative of the student movement when he was featured as a guest on a television show hosted by journalist Anna Panagiotarea. During the interview, Panagiotarea implied that Tsipras was being disingenuous in defending middle and high school students' right to absenteeism without parental notification. As a university student, he joined the ranks of the renovative left-wing movement, particularly the "Enceladus" (Greek: Εγκέλαδος) group, and as member of it was elected to the executive board of the students' union of the Civil Engineering School of NTUA, and also served as student representative on the University Senate. From 1995 to 1997 he was an elected member of the Central Council of the National Students Union of Greece (EFEE).[8]
Political career
After the departure of the Communist Party of Greece from Synaspismos, Tsipras remained in the party. He was the first political secretary of the youth-wing of Synaspismos Neolaia Syn from May 1999 to November 2003, and was succeeded by Tasos Koronakis. Despite the very clear radical, left-wing profile that he has maintained as Leader of Synaspismos, he was a centrist during his period of leadership in Neolaia Syn. He managed quite efficiently to maintain a strong adherence to the policy of the party, effectively outvoicing political deviants to the left and the right. As Secretary of Synaspismos Youth, he took an active part in the process of creating the Greek Social Forum and attended all of the international protests and marches against neoliberal globalization. In December 2004, at the 4th Congress of Synaspismos, he was elected a member of the party's Central Political Committee and consequently to the Political Secretariat, where he was responsible for educational and youth issues.[8]
Tsipras first entered the limelight of mainstream Greek politics during the 2006 local election when he ran for the municipality of Athens under the "Anoihti Poli" (Greek: Ανοιχτή Πόλη, "Open City") SYRIZA ticket that gained 10.51% of the Athenian vote.[8][11] He did not run for the Hellenic Parliament in the 2007 election, choosing to continue to complete his term as a member of the municipal council of Athens.
Alexis Tsipras giving his speech as a presidential candidate at the 5th Congress of Synaspismos.
He was elected Leader of Synaspismos during the 5th Congress on 10 February 2008, after previous Leader Alekos Alavanos decided not to stand again due to personal reasons.[12] Tsipras became Leader of Synaspismos at the age of 33, thus becoming the youngest ever leader of a Greek political party. In the 2009 election, he was elected to the Hellenic Parliament for Athens A and was subsequently voted unanimously to be the head of the SYRIZA parliamentary group.[3][4] Tsipras led SYRIZA through the 2012 elections, overseeing a swing of over 22% to the party, and becoming the Leader of the Opposition.
In December 2013 he was the first candidate proposed for the position of President of the Commission of the European Union by the Nordic Greens/European Left. The vote will be a EU member states election to the European Parliament in May 2014.
He is campaigning as the only candidate of the south periphery countries. In beginning of May 2014, in a speech in Berlin, Capital of Germany, he clarified many of his positions, in opposition to the allegedly Merkel dominated neo-liberal political course in Europe. Angela Merkel has been the Chancellor of Germany since 2005, and as such, she has been quite influential in the policies of the European Union.
Tsipras in Bologna holding a speech for The Other Europe allied party.
Tsipras declared a substantial change for a better future for all Europeans is visible within 10 years. He addressed those who lost out in the fallout of the neo-liberal crisis management 2008 - 2014, which produced unexpectedly high job-less rates in most of the EU. The speech was given in English to a German audience and most probably intended to be listened to, in all of Europe.[13]
Tsipras led Syriza to victory at the 2015 general elections on January 25th, however fell short of reaching a majority in Parliament. Next morning Tsipras told president Karolos Papoulias that he has enough support to form a government and he was in talks with the Independent Greeks Party proposing to form coalition create a government.
Personal life
His domestic partner is Peristera Batziana, an electrical and computer engineer. The two met in 1987 at the Ampelokipoi Branch High School and both became members of the Communist Youth of Greece. They live together with their two sons.[14] Their youngest son's middle name is Ernesto, a tribute to Che Guevara. Tsipras is an avid football fan and, having grown up near the stadium, supports Panathinaikos, attending every home game that he can.[6] Tsipras has been called a self-described atheist.[1]
See also
Politics of Greece
References
Smith, Helena (18 September 2014). "Pope Francis the 'pontiff of the poor', says Greece's Alexis Tsipras". The Guardian. "Alexis Tsipras – a radical leftist and self-described atheist"
"Greece's far left: The company he keeps". The Economist. 4 October 2014. "Mr Tsipras, an atheist"
Ανανέωση αλλά και ηχηρές απουσίες στη νέα Βουλή. ANA-MPA (in Greek). 9 October 2006. Retrieved 9 October 2009.
"Alexis Tsipras to head SYRIZA Parliamentary group". Athina 9.84 Municipal Radio (athina984.gr). 8 October 2009. Retrieved 9 October 2009.
"Αλέξιος Παύλου Τσίπρας : ΠΡΟΕΔΡΟΣ ΤΗΣ Κ.Ο. ΤΟΥ ΣΥΝΑΣΠΙΣΜΟΥ ΡΙΖΟΣΠΑΣΤΙΚΗΣ ΑΡΙΣΤΕΡΑΣ ΒΟΥΛΕΥΤΗΣ Α' ΑΘΗΝΩΝ" (in Greek). Hellenic Parliament. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
Andy Denwood (14 May 2012). "Profile: Alexis Tsipras, leader of Syriza". BBC News.
Apostolidis, Tasos (28 November 2007). Αλέξης Τσίπρας: "Καβαλιώτης" και μόλις 33 Μαΐων το φαβορί για την ηγεσία του ΣΥΝ. KavalaNet (in Greek) (kavalanet.gr). Retrieved 22 May 2009.
"Alexis Tsipras". Synaspismos. syn.gr. Retrieved 22 May 2009.
Σχόλιο Γραφείου Τύπου του ΣΥΝ για τις προσωπικές επιθέσεις εναντίον του Προέδρου του ΣΥΝ – Επισύναψη επιστολών (in Greek). syn.gr. 21 November 2008. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
Αλέξης Τσίπρας (in Greek). enet.gr. 9 October 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
"Coalition selects A. Tsipras for Athens mayorship". ANA-MPA. Retrieved 22 May 2009.
"Tsipras new SYN leader, new CPC elected". ANA-MPA (ana.gr). Retrieved 26 April 2009.
http://www.alexistsipras.eu/index.php/8-news/163-tsipras-to-speak-at-die-linke-party-congress-in-berlin
Έγινε πατέρας ο Αλέξης Τσίπρας (in Greek). cosmo.gr. 17 May 2010. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
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