Greece is a parliamentary republic. Its present democratic order was born in 1974, with the fall of the colonels' dictatorship (1967-1974), and the same year a referendum abolished the monarchy.
Institutions
- Electorate, voting from age 17
- Parliament (Vouli), 300 members elected every four years
- President of the Republic, elected by Parliament for five years
- Government, led by the Prime Minister, who needs Parliament's confidence
- Parliament (Vouli), 300 members elected every four years
- Judiciary: Council of State, Supreme Court (Areios Pagos), Court of Audit
The President has a mainly ceremonial and guarantor role; since 2025 it has been Konstantinos Tasoulas, former Speaker of Parliament. Executive power lies with the Prime Minister, leader of the majority party. Parliament sits in the former royal palace on Syntagma Square in Athens, where evzones in traditional dress guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Parties: from two-party rule to fragmentation
For almost forty years Greek politics was dominated by two parties taking turns in power: New Democracy (centre-right), founded by Konstantinos Karamanlis, and PASOK (socialist centre-left), founded by Andreas Papandreou. People often speak of political "dynasties": the Karamanlis, Papandreou and Mitsotakis families have each produced more than one prime minister.
The debt crisis swept this system away. In 2015 SYRIZA, a radical-left coalition led by Alexis Tsipras, won. In 2019 New Democracy returned to power under Kyriakos Mitsotakis, re-elected with an absolute majority of seats in June 2023.
| Party | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| New Democracy (ND) | Centre-right | In government since 2019 |
| PASOK-Movement for Change | Centre-left | Main opposition party in Parliament since 2024 |
| SYRIZA | Left | In government 2015-2019, then sharply down and divided |
| KKE | Communist | Historic party, in Parliament continuously since 1974 |
| Greek Solution | Nationalist right | In Parliament since 2019 |
| Course of Freedom | Left | Founded by Zoi Konstantopoulou |
The current situation
After the 2023 elections the opposition fragmented. New parties emerged in 2026: former prime minister Alexis Tsipras, having left SYRIZA, founded the Greek Left Alliance (ELAS) in May, while Maria Karystianou, mother of a victim of the 2023 Tempi rail crash and a leading figure in the protests that followed, launched her own movement. Autumn 2026 polls put New Democracy ahead, but short of the level needed to govern alone. The next elections are due by spring-summer 2027. See elections in Greece.
Foreign policy
Greece has been in NATO since 1952 and the European Union since 1981. Relations with Turkey remain the main issue, with disputes over Aegean airspace and waters and the Cyprus question, though dialogue resumed in 2023. In 2018 the Prespa Agreement ended the long name dispute with neighbouring North Macedonia. Greece supports the EU integration of the Western Balkans and is a key energy partner in the eastern Mediterranean.
See also history and 20th-century Greece.