Greek PM proposes parliament speaker as the country’s next president

ATHENS, Greece — Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has proposed the current speaker of parliament to be the country’s next president.

Constantine Tassoulas, a member of Mitsotakis’ center-right New Democracy party, has served as Greece’s parliament speaker since 2019. A lawyer by profession, he previously held positions as culture and sports minister and deputy defense minister.

Greece’s largely ceremonial president is elected for a five-year term by the country’s 300 lawmakers, in a process that can extend up to five rounds. To win in the first or second round, a candidate needs 200 votes, with that number dropping to 180 in the third round and a simple parliamentary majority of 151 in the fourth.

The governing New Democracy party currently holds 156 seats, followed by the center-left PASOK with 31 and the left-wing SYRIZA with 26.

The first round of voting has been set for Jan. 25.