Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou
| Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou | |
|---|---|
| Βασιλική Θάνου-Χριστοφίλου | |
 |
|
| 184th Prime Minister of Greece | |
| In office 27 August 2015 – 21 September 2015 |
|
| President | Prokopis Pavlopoulos |
| Preceded by | Alexis Tsipras |
| Succeeded by | Alexis Tsipras |
| President of the Court of Cassation | |
| Assumed office 1 July 2015 |
|
| President | Prokopis Pavlopoulos |
| Prime Minister | Alexis Tsipras Herself |
| Preceded by | Athanasios Koutroumanos |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1950 (age 64–65) Chalcis, Greece |
| Nationality | Greek |
| Political party | Independent |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | University of Athens Panthéon-Assas University |
| Religion | Greek Orthodox |
Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou (Greek: Βασιλική Θάνου-Χριστοφίλου, Greek pronunciation: [vasiliˌci ˌθanu xristoˈfilu]; born 1950), also known as Vassiliki Thanou, is a Greek judge who, in an interim capacity, served as Prime Minister of Greece from 27 August to 21 September 2015. She was Greece's first ever female Prime Minister and the 184th since 1822.
She has been the President of the Court of Cassation, one of Greece's three supreme courts, since 1 July 2015, and is currently the most senior judge in Greece. She teaches civil law at the National School of Judges of Greece and has been, since 2012, the President of the Greek Association of Judges and Prosecutors (SAD).
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Early life[edit]
Thanou-Christophilou was born in Chalcis and studied law at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens before completing post-graduate studies in European law at the Panthéon-Assas University.[1]
Career[edit]
Since 2009, Thanou-Christophilou has taught civil law at the National School of Judges in Greece.[1] Since 2012, she has also been the President of the Greek Association of Judges and Prosecutors (SAD), having first been elected in 2012 for a two-year term, and re-elected for the same period in 2014.[2]
Thanou-Christophilou entered the judiciary body in 1975, and became the President of the Court of First Instance in 1992. She became an appellate judge in 1996 and subsequently President of the Appeals Court in 2005. She became a judge in the Court of Cassation in 2008, and Vice President of the Court in 2014.[1]
On 1 July 2015, she succeeded Athanasios Koutroumanos as President of the Court of Cassation, following the former's retirement. Her appointment came at the recommendation of Nikos Paraskevopoulos, the Minister of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights.[1] Thanou-Christophilou therefore became the 42nd President of the Court of Cassation since 1835, and the second ever female President after Rena Asimakopoulou.[3] Due to her seniority as a President of a Greek supreme court, she is also the President of the Supreme Electoral Court.[2]
Prime Minister of Greece[edit]
On 20 August 2015, Alexis Tsipras, the Prime Minister of Greece since January 2015, resigned and asked for an interim government to be formed before an election could be held on 20 September. Constitutionally, before appointing the interim government, the President of Greece had to allow opposition parties several days to attempt to form their own government. After this process was completed, the President, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, had to appoint an interim government until the election could be held.[4][5] According to Article 37 of the Constitution of Greece, a president of one of the three Greek supreme courts must fill the role of interim Prime Minister, which therefore meant that Thanou-Christophilou had to fill the role as she was the only sitting President.[4][5][6]
On 27 August, Pavlopoulos formally announced that he would be appointing Thanou-Christophilou as Prime Minister that day, as negotiations with opposition parties had failed. Her caretaker cabinet was sworn in on 28 August. She will continue as Prime Minister until a legislative election is held, on 20 September.[7] She is Greece's first ever female Prime Minister, and the 184th.[8][2] At her swearing-in ceremony, she noted, "the caretaker government’s duties are mainly holding the elections in a fair and smooth fashion."[9]
One of the main issues that Thanou-Christophilou had to face as Prime Minister was the European migrant crisis. At one meeting, she said, "the migrant and refugee issue that was recently significantly enlarged and coincided with the term of the caretaker government."[10]
Personal life[edit]
Thanou-Christophilou is married and has three children.[1] She speaks Greek, French and English fluently.[2]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e Chrysopoulos, Philip (20 August 2015). "The Judge Who Could be Greece’s First Female Prime Minister". Greek Reporter. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
- ^ a b c d "ΒΙΟΓΡΑΦΙΚΟ THΣ ΝΕΑΣ ΠΡΟΕΔΡΟΥ ΤΟΥ ΑΡΕΙΟΥ ΠΑΓΟΥ ΒΑΣΙΛΙΚΗΣ ΘΑΝΟΥ – ΧΡΙΣΤΟΦΙΛΟΥ". Court of Cassation (in Greek). Retrieved 26 August 2015.
- ^ Ελευθερία, Κόλλια (4 July 2015). "Βασιλική Θάνου-Χριστοφίλου: Η συνδικαλίστρια που έγινε πρόεδρος του Αρείου Πάγου". To Vima (in Greek). Retrieved 26 August 2015.
- ^ a b Khan, Mehreen (20 August 2015). "Opposition seek to form minority government after Tsipras resigns and calls snap election: as it happened". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
- ^ a b Henley, Jon (20 August 2015). "Greek bailout: Alexis Tsipras steps down to trigger new elections". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
- ^ Maltezou, Renee (27 August 2015). "Anti-austerity judge Thanou becomes first female Greek PM". Reuters. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
- ^ "Greece vote set for 20 September as interim PM takes office". BBC News. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
- ^ "Greece's caretaker government sworn in with first female prime mimister". The Guardian. Associated Press in Athens. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
- ^ Hopkins, Claire (1 September 2015). "Vassiliki Thanou – first woman to head Greece Government". Press Examiner. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
- ^ Zikakou, Ioanna (13 September 2015). "Greek PM Chairs Meeting on Refugee Crisis in Mytilene". Greek Reporter. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
External links[edit]
Media related to Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou at Wikimedia Commons
Media related to | Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Alexis Tsipras |
Prime Minister of Greece 2015 |
Succeeded by Alexis Tsipras |
