First Cabinet of Alexis Tsipras

Following his victory in legislative elections held on 25 January 2015, the newly elected Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras appointed a new cabinet to succeed the cabinet of Antonis Samaras, his predecessor.[1] A significant reshuffle took place on 17 July 2015.

First Cabinet of Alexis Tsipras

Cabinet of Greece
Alexis Tsipras in 2015
Date formed26 January 2015 (2015-01-26)
Date dissolved27 August 2015 (2015-08-27)
People and organisations
Head of stateProkopis Pavlopoulos
Head of governmentAlexis Tsipras
Deputy head of governmentYannis Dragasakis
No. of ministers13
Total no. of members46
Member partiesCoalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA),
Independent Greeks (ANEL)
(with participation from Ecologist Greens and independents)
Status in legislatureSYRIZA-led coalition government
162 / 300 (54%)
Opposition partiesNew Democracy
LAE (from 21/08/15)
Golden Dawn
To Potami
Communist Party of Greece (KKE)
Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK)
Opposition leaderAntonis Samaras (Until 05/07/15)
Vangelis Meimarakis (From 05/07/15)
History
Election(s)January 2015 Greek legislative election
Legislature term(s)16th (2015–2015)
PredecessorSamaras Cabinet
SuccessorThanou-Christophilou Caretaker Cabinet
This article is part of a series about
Alexis Tsipras
  • Political offices
  • Early political life
  • Leader of the Opposition
First term
Second term
  • Prime Minister of Greece
First term
Second term

Tsipras resigned as Prime Minister on 20 August 2015, and after opposition parties failed to form their own government, on 27 August Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou was appointed as an interim Prime Minister, and her caretaker cabinet was sworn in on 28 August. Following the subsequent September legislative election, Tsipras was re-appointed as Prime Minister on 21 September and appointed a second cabinet that was sworn in on 23 September.

Composition of the cabinet

The cabinet is composed of 35 members, alongside 6 deputy ministers. Including the deputy ministers the cabinet comprises 6 females and 35 males. It reflects the majority coalition in Parliament. It is composed of the winning Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) with the support of the right-wing anti-austerity party, Independent Greeks (ANEL). The Ecologist Greens (OP), which had withdrawn from the election in support of SYRIZA, were given the office of Alternate Minister of Environment and Energy. Finally, some ministers do not belong to any party.

Oath of office

Most members of the cabinet were sworn in on 27 January 2015,[2] with the exception of the new Minister of Justice Nikos Paraskevopoulos , who was sworn in a day later,[3] and the Alternate Ministers Christodoulopoulou, Spirtzis and Fotakis who were sworn in almost two months later.

While most representatives of Syriza chose a civil oath of office, the ANEL representatives as well as Yiannis Panousis, Dimitris Mardas and Panagiotis Nikoloudis chose a religious oath before a representative of the Greek orthodox Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens.[3]

Cabinet list

Prime Minister
Office[4] Incumbent Party Tenure
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras SYRIZA 26 January 2015 - 27 August 2015
Deputy Prime Minister Yannis Dragasakis SYRIZA 27 January 2015 - 28 August 2015

Government Ministries

The number of ministries has been reduced to ten, including four merged ministries:[5]

  • The merged Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reconstruction succeeds the ministries of 1) Interior, 2) Administrative Reform and E-Government, 3) Public Order and Citizen Protection, and 4) Macedonia and Thrace.
  • The merged Ministry of Economy, Infrastructure, Marine and Tourism succeeds the ministries of 1) Development and Competitiveness, 2) Marine and Aegean, 3) Tourism, and 4) Infrastructure, Transport and Networks.
  • The merged Ministry of Productive Reconstruction, Environment and Energy succeeds the ministries of 1) Environment, Energy and Climate Change, 2) Rural Development and Food, and 3) the services of the General Secretariat of the Ministry of Industry Development and Competitiveness.
  • The merged Ministry of Culture, Education and Religious Affairs succeeds the ministries of 1) Culture and Sport, and 2) Education.

Alternate Ministers are directly assigned special responsibilities and powers by the prime minister, including:[6]

  • full parliamentary powers and, in conjunction with the minister, the legislative initiative
  • the right to issue individual and normative acts, and to propose individual and normative decrees

Full ministers however retain:

  • the identification of ministerial policy in the cabinet
  • the representation in bodies of the European Union
  • the appointment of administrative agencies, public services and personnel

Deputy ministers are assigned with responsibilities and powers by the prime minister and the full minister they report to.

Ministry[7] Office[4] Incumbent Party Tenure
1.
Ministry of the Interior and Administrative Reconstruction		 Minister of the Interior and Administrative Reconstruction Nikos Voutsis SYRIZA 27 January 2015 – 28 August 2015
Alternate Minister of Administrative Reform Georgios Katrougalos SYRIZA 27 January 2015 – 17 July 2015
Christophoros Vernardakis SYRIZA 17 July 2015 – 28 August 2015
Alternate Minister of Citizen Protection Giannis Panousis Independent 27 January 2015 – 28 August 2015
Alternate Minister of Immigration Policy Tasia Christodoulopoulou SYRIZA 21 March 2015 – 28 August 2015
Deputy Minister for Macedonia and Thrace Maria Kollia-Tsarouchaa ANEL 27 January 2015 – 28 August 2015
Alternate Minister of the Interior and Administrative Reconstruction Pavlos Polakis SYRIZA 17 July 2015 – 28 August 2015
2.
Ministry of Economy, Infrastructure, Shipping and Tourism		 Minister of Economy, Infrastructure, Shipping and Tourism Giorgos Stathakis SYRIZA 27 January 2015 – 28 August 2015
Alternate Minister of Infrastructure, Transport and Networks Christos Spirtzis SYRIZA 28 January 2015 – 28 August 2015
Alternate Minister of Shipping Thodoris Dritsas SYRIZA 27 January 2015 – 28 August 2015
Alternate Minister of Tourism Elena Kountoura ANEL 27 January 2015 – 28 August 2015
3.
Ministry of National Defence		 Minister of National Defence Panos Kammenos ANEL 27 January 2015 – 28 August 2015
Alternate Minister of National Defence Kostas Isyhos SYRIZA 27 January 2015 – 17 July 2015
Dimitris Vitsas SYRIZA 17 July 2015 – 28 August 2015
Deputy Minister of National Defence Nikos Toskasa SYRIZA 27 January 2015 – 28 August 2015
4.
Ministry of Culture, Education and Religious Affairs		 Minister of Culture, Education and Religious Affairs Aristides Baltas SYRIZA 27 January 2015 – 28 August 2015
Alternate Minister of Culture Nikos Xydakis SYRIZA 27 January 2015 – 28 August 2015
Alternate Minister of Education Tasos Kourakis SYRIZA 27 January 2015 – 28 August 2015
Alternate Minister of Research and Innovation Kostas Fotakis Independent 21 March 2015 – 28 August 2015
Deputy Minister of Sports Stavros Kontonisa SYRIZA 27 January 2015 – 28 August 2015
5.
Ministry of Productive Reconstruction, Environment and Energy		 Minister of Productive Reconstruction, Environment and Energy Panagiotis Lafazanis SYRIZA 27 January 2015 – 17 July 2015
Panos Skourletis SYRIZA 17 July 2015 – 28 August 2015
Alternate Minister of Environment and Energy Giannis Tsironis OP 27 January 2015 – 28 August 2015
Alternate Minister of Agricultural Development and Food Evangelos Apostolou SYRIZA 27 January 2015 – 28 August 2015
Deputy Minister of Agricultural Development Panagiotis Sgouridisa ANEL 27 January 2015 – 28 August 2015
6.
Ministry of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights		 Minister of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights Nikos Paraskevopoulos Independent 28 January 2015 – 28 August 2015
Alternate Minister of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights Dimitris Papangelopoulos Independent 17 July 2015 – 28 August 2015
7.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs		 Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Kotzias Independent 27 January 2015 – 28 August 2015
Alternate Minister of European Affairs Nikos Hountis SYRIZA 27 January 2015 – 13 July 2015
Sia Anagnostopoulou SYRIZA 18 July 2015 – 28 August 2015
Alternate Minister of International Economic Relations Euclid Tsakalotos SYRIZA 27 January 2015 – 6 July 2015
Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Ioannis Amanatidis SYRIZA 17 July 2015 – 28 August 2015
8.
Ministry of Finance		 Minister of Finance Yanis Varoufakis SYRIZA 27 January 2015 – 6 July 2015
Euclid Tsakalotos SYRIZA 6 July 2015 – 28 August 2015
Alternate Minister of Finance Nadia Valavani SYRIZA 27 January 2015 – 15 July 2015
Tryfon Alexiadis SYRIZA 17 July 2015 – 28 August 2015
Alternate Minister of Revenue Dimitris Mardas Independent 27 January 2015 – 28 August 2015
9.
Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity		 Minister of Labour and Social Solidarity Panos Skourletis SYRIZA 27 January 2015 – 17 July 2015
Georgios Katrougalos SYRIZA 17 July 2015 – 28 August 2015
Alternate Minister of Social Solidarity Theano Fotiou SYRIZA 27 January 2015 – 28 August 2015
Alternate Minister for Combatting Unemployment Rania Antonopoulou SYRIZA 27 January 2015 – 28 August 2015
Alternate Minister of Social Security Dimitris Stratoulis SYRIZA 21 March 2015 – 17 July 2015
Deputy Minister of Social Security Pavlos Haikalis ANEL 18 July 2015 – 28 August 2015
10.
Ministry of Health and Social Security		 Minister of Health and Social Security Panagiotis Kouroumplis SYRIZA 27 January 2015 – 28 August 2015
Alternate Minister of Health Andreas Xanthos SYRIZA 27 January 2015 – 28 August 2015

Ministers of State
Rank[8] Office[4] Incumbent Party In office since
1. Minister of State Nikos Pappas SYRIZA 27 January 2015 – 28 August 2015
2. Minister of State for Coordinating Government Operations Alekos Flambouraris SYRIZA 27 January 2015 – 28 August 2015
Deputy Minister of State for Coordinating Government Operations Terence Quicka ANEL 27 January 2015 – 28 August 2015
3. Minister of State for Combatting Corruption Panagiotis Nikoloudis Independent 27 January 2015 – 23 September 2015
Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister and Government Spokesperson Gabriel Sakellaridisa SYRIZA 27 January 2015 – 17 July 2015
Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister Terence Quicka SYRIZA 17 July 2015 – 28 August 2015
Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister and Government Spokesperson Olga Gerovassili SYRIZA 17 July 2015 – 28 August 2015

Bold denotes full ministers attending the weekly cabinet council.
a Deputy ministers are not members of the cabinet but may attend cabinet meetings.
References:[9][10][11][12][13][14][15]

Changes

Resignations

Yanis Varoufakis, the Minister of Finance, resigned on 6 July 2015, following the 'No' vote in the Greek bailout referendum. In a blog post on his website, Varoufakis wrote: "Soon after the announcement of the referendum results, I was made aware of a certain preference by some Eurogroup participants, and assorted 'partners', for my... 'absence' from its meetings; an idea that the prime minister judged to be potentially helpful to him in reaching an agreement. For this reason I am leaving the Ministry of Finance today."[16] Varoufakis was succeeded as Minister of Finance by Euclid Tsakalotos. Tsakalotos in turn left his role as Alternate Minister of International Economic Affairs, leaving the position vacant.

Nikolaos Chountis, the Alternate Minister of European Affairs, resigned on 13 July 2015, three days before the debate on the first round of measures in the tenth austerity package began in the Hellenic Parliament. He also resigned from his parliamentary seat. Chountis subsequently took up the post of Member of the European Parliament for Greece, following Manolis Glezos's resignation.[17] Chountis was replaced as Alternate Minister of European Affairs by Sia Anagnostopoulou, as part of the 17 July cabinet reshuffle.

Nadia Valavani, the Alternate Minister of Finance, resigned on 15 July 2015, the day before the vote on the first round of measures in the tenth austerity package were debated in the Hellenic Parliament. Valavani was succeeded in her role by Tryfon Alexiadis on 17 July, as part of the cabinet reshuffle.[18]

17 July 2015 cabinet reshuffle

Following a number of cabinet members voting against the government on the first set of measures in the tenth austerity package on 16 July 2015, Alexis Tsipras reshuffled his cabinet. The reshuffle took place on 17 July, and the new ministers were sworn in on 18 July. The most notable move was to remove Panagiotis Lafazanis from his ministerial role.[18][19]

Cabinet members that were removed from cabinet:

  • Panagiotis Lafazanis, the Minister of Productive Reconstruction, Environment and Energy
  • Kostas Isyhos, the Alternate Minister of National Defence
  • Dimitris Stratoulis, the Alternate Minister of Social Security

Existing cabinet members that took on new roles:

  • Panos Skourletis, the Minister of Labour and Social Solidarity, became the Minister of Productive Reconstruction, Environment and Energy
  • Georgios Katrougalos, the Alternate Minister of Administrative Reform, became the Minister of Labour and Social Solidarity
  • Gabriel Sakellaridis, the Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister and Government Spokesperson, became a Parliamentary Spokesperson
  • Olga Gerovasili, a Parliamentary Spokesperson, became the Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister and Government Spokesperson

New cabinet members:

References:[18][19][15][20]

Along with ministerial changes, a special committee to combat corruption was also proposed by the Prime Minister, to be headed by the Minister of State for Combatting Corruption Panagiotis Nikoloudis. The committee would consist of Tryfon Alexiadis, Pavlos Polakis, Dimitris Papagelopoulos and Terence Quick.[15]

Newly appointed Minister of Productive Reconstruction, Environment and Energy Panos Skourletis described the reshuffle as an "adjustment by the government to a new reality".[19]

References
  1. "Government announces the new ministerial cabinet". To Vima. 27 January 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  2. "Greece anti-bailout leader Tsipras made prime minister". BBC News. 26 January 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  3. "New SYRIZA cabinet sworn in at the presidential mansion". Capital.gr. 28 January 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  4. Η σύνθεση της Κυβέρνησης [Composition of the Government] (in Greek). Archived from the original on 6 June 2017. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  5. "Government will compose four merged Ministries and six "small ones"". Proto Thema. 27 January 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  6. Ανάθεση αρμοδιοτήτων στην Αναπληρώτρια Υπουργό Εργασίας και Κοινωνικής Αλληλεγγύης Ουρανίας Αντωνοπούλου [Delegation of authority to the Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Solidarity Ourania Antonopoulou] (PDF) (in Greek). Prime Minister of Greece. 16 February 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  7. Καθορισμός σειράς τάξης των Υπουργείων [Sequencing order of Ministries] (PDF) (in Greek). Prime Minister of Greece. 17 February 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  8. Καθορισμός σειράς προβαδίσματος των Υπουργών Επικρατείας [Precedence order of State Ministers] (PDF) (in Greek). Prime Minister of Greece. 2 February 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  9. "The new cabinet". Kathimerini. 27 January 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  10. "New government announced, first cabinet meeting on Wednesday January 28". Greek News. 27 January 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  11. "Small cabinet group to meet every week, gov't sources say". newsbomb.gr. 27 January 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  12. "Tsipras unveils anti-austerity cabinet". Kathimerini. 27 January 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  13. "Με διπλή τελετή η ορκωμοσία της κυβέρνησης". Nooz.gr. 27 January 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  14. "The rise of 'Dr Doom': Yanis Varoufakis' explosive new role". The Sydney Morning Herald. 29 January 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  15. Adamopoulos, Anastassios. "Greek Government Announces Cabinet Reshuffle". Greek Reporter. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  16. Farrer, Martin; Rankin, Jennifer; Traynor, Ian (6 July 2015). "Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis resigns despite referendum no vote". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  17. Panoutsopoulou, Magda (14 July 2015). "Resistance builds in Greek parliament to bailout plan". Anadolu Agency. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  18. Smith, Helena (17 July 2015). "Alexis Tsipras reshuffles cabinet to get rid of bailout dissidents". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  19. "New Greek ministers sworn in after Tsipras' cabinet reshuffle". Hurriyet Daily News. 18 July 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  20. Adamopoulos, Anastassios (18 July 2015). "The 8 New Faces of the Greek Government: Tsipras Reshuffles Cabinet". Greek Reporter. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
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