Alexis Tsipras
| Alexis Tsipras Αλέξης Τσίπρας MP |
|
|---|---|
 |
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| Leader of the Opposition | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 20 June 2012 |
|
| Prime Minister | Antonis Samaras |
| Preceded by | Antonis Samaras |
| Leader of SYRIZA | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 4 October 2009 |
|
| Preceded by | Alekos Alavanos |
| President of Synaspismós | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 9 February 2008 |
|
| Preceded by | Alekos Alavanos |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 July 1974 Athens, Greece[1] |
| Political party | Synaspismós |
| Other political affiliations |
Coalition of the Radical Left |
| Alma mater | National Technical University of Athens |
| Religion | Greek Orthodox |
Alexis Tsipras (Greek: Αλέξης Τσίπρας; born 28 July 1974) is a Greek left-wing politician, member of the Hellenic parliament, president of the Synaspismos political party since 2008, head of the SYRIZA parliamentary group since 2009[2][3] and Leader of the Opposition since June 2012.
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Early life and career [edit]
Tsipras was born 28 July 1974, in Athens three days after the fall of the Greek military junta.[1][4] His mother was born in Eleftheroupoli.[5] He studied civil engineering at the National Technical University of Athens. After his graduation in 2000, he undertook postgraduate studies in land-surveying and planning following an inter-departmental programme 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.[6][7][8]
Political activity [edit]
He joined the Communist Youth of Greece in the late 80s. In the early 90s, he was politically active in the pupil uprising against the controversial law of then minister Vasilis Kontogiannopoulos, as a student of Ampelokipoi Branch High School. He rose to prominence as a representative of the pupil movement when he was featured as a guest at a show hosted by journalist Anna Panagiotarea. During an interview, the journalist implied that Tsipras was being disingenuous in defending middle and high school students' right to absenteeism without parental notification.[citation needed]
As a university student he joined the ranks of the renovative left movement and was member of the executive board of the Students' union of the Civil Engineering School of NTUA and also served as student representative at the University Senate. From 1995 to 1997 he was elected member of the Central Council of the National Students Union of Greece (EFEE).[6]
Political career [edit]
After the departure of the Communist Party of Greece from Synaspismos, Tsipras remained in the party. He was the first person ever to hold the leading position (political secretary) of the youth wing of Synaspismos Neolaia Syn, from May 1999 to November 2003, and was suceeeded by Tasos Koronakis. Despite the very clear radical, left-wing profile that he has maintained as leader of Synaspismos, he was 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 the Synaspismos Youth he took active part in the process of creation of the Greek Social Forum and attended all 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.[6]
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.[6][9] He did not run for membership to the Hellenic parliament (Vouli) in the 2007 legislative election, choosing to continue to serve his term as a member of the municipal council of Athens.
He was elected chairman of Synaspismos during the fifth party congress on 10 February 2008, after the previous chairman, Alekos Alavanos, decided not to apply for a renewal of his chairmanship due to personal reasons.[10] When he was elected president of Synaspismos he was 33, thus becoming the youngest ever head of a Greek parliamentary political party.
In the 2009 Greek legislative election he was elected a member of the Hellenic parliament for the Athens A' constituency and was voted unanimously, by the secretariat of the SYRIZA, as the head of its parliamentary group.[2][3]
Personal life [edit]
Tsirpas also participates as public intellectual in conferences, debates and festivals, such as the Subversive Film Festival on May 4–8, 2013 in Zagreb, Croatia, where he is guest speaker and panelist together with Slavoj Zizek and Tariq Ali.[11]
His significant other is Peristera Batziana, an electrical and computer engineer. They met in 1987 as schoolmates at the Ampelokipoi Branch High School and both became members of the Communist Youth of Greece. Today, they live together and they have two sons.[12]
Tsipras is an avid football fan and, having grown up near the stadium, supports Panathinaikos F.C., attending every home game that he can.[4]
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ a b "Αλέξιος Παύλου Τσίπρας : ΠΡΟΕΔΡΟΣ ΤΗΣ Κ.Ο. ΤΟΥ ΣΥΝΑΣΠΙΣΜΟΥ ΡΙΖΟΣΠΑΣΤΙΚΗΣ ΑΡΙΣΤΕΡΑΣ ΒΟΥΛΕΥΤΗΣ Α' ΑΘΗΝΩΝ" (in Greek). Hellenic Parliament. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
- ^ a b "Ανανέωση αλλά και ηχηρές απουσίες στη νέα Βουλή". ANA-MPA (in Greek) (ana-mpa.gr). 09 October 06. Retrieved 2009-10-09.
- ^ a b "Alexis Tsipras to head SYRIZA Parliamentary group". Athina 9.84 Municipal Radio (athina984.gr). 8 October 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-09.
- ^ a b 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 2009-05-22.
- ^ a b c d "Alexis Tsipras". Synaspismos. syn.gr. Retrieved 2009-05-22.
- ^ "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 (ana.gr). Retrieved 2009-05-22.
- ^ "Tsipras new SYN leader, new CPC elected". ANA-MPA (ana.gr). Retrieved 2009-04-26.
- ^ "Oliver Stone, Alexis Tsipras Join Croatia ‘Subversives’". Balkan Insights. Retrieved 2013-05-03.
- ^ "Έγινε πατέρας ο Αλέξης Τσίπρας" (in Greek). cosmo.gr. 17 May 2010. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
External links [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Alexis Tsipras |
- Curriculum Vitae Synaspismos website
- Ανοιχτή Πόλη
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Alekos Alavanos |
Leader of Synaspismós 2008–present |
Incumbent |
| Leader of the Coalition of the Radical Left 2009–present |
||
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Antonis Samaras |
Leader of the Opposition 2012–present |
Incumbent |
|
