Konstantinos Tasoulas, president of Greece. Biography

On Wednesday, February 12, the Greek parliament elected Konstantinos Tasoulas as the country's new president. In the fourth round of voting, the candidate from the New Democracy party won 160 votes out of 151 required. About the life and career of the elected Greek leader read in the material "Izvestia"

Konstantinos Tasoulas was born in 1959 in the city of Ioannina in northwestern Greece. In 1981 he graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University of Athens. After graduation, he practiced law in the Greek capital. From 1988 to 1989, he worked in London as a British Council Fellow. In addition, from 1981 to 1989, he was secretary to Evangelos Averof, chairman of the New Democracy Party.

Tasoulas began his political career in the late 1980s. From 1989 to 1990, he served as an advisor in the Ministries of National Economy, Trade and Agriculture. From 1990 to 1993, he headed the Hellenic Foreign Trade Organization, specializing in export support. In 1990, the official joined the municipal council of Kifissia (a northern suburb of Athens) and became its mayor in 1994.

In 2000, Tasoulas was elected for the first time as a member of the Greek Parliament from the New Democracy party, representing the constituency of Yianina. He held this position for more than 20 years and was re-elected several times. He last participated in the parliamentary elections in 2023.

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Tasoulas has also worked in government positions. From 2007 to 2009, he was Deputy Minister of Defense of Greece. In 2014-2015, the politician worked as Minister of Culture and Sports. In this position, he dealt with issues related to the work of the Athens Concert Hall, the National Museum of Modern Art in Athens, as well as the Hellenic Cultural Center.

In parallel, Tasoulas built a career within New Democracy. In February 2010, he became general secretary of the party's parliamentary group. From 2013 to 2014, he served as president of the Konstantinos Karamanlis Institute for Democracy, a think tank named after the coalition's founder. In 2018, the politician acted as New Democracy's general rapporteur for the constitutional review.

In July 2019, Tasoulas became speaker of the Greek Parliament. He managed to get 283 votes, which was the best voting result for confirmation to this position in the country's history. He was re-elected in 2023.

Tassoulas left the Greek parliament in January 2025 after his candidacy for the post of head of state. He was elected president of the country in February after four rounds of voting. In each round, the politician was supported by 160 parliamentarians. Second place went to a representative of the opposition party PASOK - Movement of Change, former Foreign Minister Tasos Yiannitsis. 34 MPs voted for him. In third place was the candidate of the Coalition of Radical Left - Progressive Alliance (SYRIZA - PA) Luka Katseli with 29 votes.

Tasoulas is expected to take office as head of state on March 13, after the term of incumbent Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou expires.