A historic moment has been reached in Greece as the parliament has elected a new president, Konstantinos Tasoulas. The 64-year-old politician won the presidential election with 160 votes out of a total of 276 cast.
Tasoulas, a seasoned politician and former minister of culture and sports, was nominated by the New Democracy party, which holds power in Greece. He succeeds the previous president who served for five years as mandated by the Greek constitution.
The election marks the end of a three-week voting process that saw no candidate emerge victorious in the first three rounds. According to the Greek constitution, a presidential candidate must secure at least 151 votes in the fourth round to win the election.
Tasoulas was born in 1959 and studied law at the University of Athens. He has been a prominent figure in Greek politics for decades, serving as a member of parliament and holding various ministerial positions, including that of culture and sports minister from 2014 to 2019.
In January this year, he was nominated by the New Democracy party as its presidential candidate, after which he resigned from his position as speaker of the house. He will take office on March 13th.
Greece is a parliamentary democracy and according to its constitution, the president serves as head of state and is elected by parliament for a five-year term, with the possibility of re-election once.