Katerina Sakellaropoulou: High court judge becomes Greece's first female president

Euronews
January 22, 2020

High court judge, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, has become Greece's first female president, after a vote in Parliament on Wednesday.

Two opposition parties sided with the centre-right government's nomination to give Sakellaropoulou 261 votes, way more than the 200 needed.

Centre-left opposition parties had already backed Sakellaropoulou's nomination before Wednesday's vote.

She will take up a five-year term in the largely ceremonial post in March.

Opposition leader and former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said Sakellaropoulou was an "exceptional judge" and a defender of human rights.

Aristides Hatzis is Professor of Law at the University of Athens. He says she'll be a positive force in Greek politics.

"She's a great judge, an excellent consensus builder, she's liberal in the broadest sense of the word, and she's not partisan. This is very important for Greek politics. Most importantly, she's a generous person, she's empathetic, she very perceptive."

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