European People's Party
Activities within European institutions -- European Council
Table:
Member state

Representative

Title

Political party

Member of the Council since

Portrait

Austria

Sebastian Kurz

Chancellor

ÖVP

7 January 2020

Bulgaria

Boyko Borissov

Prime Minister

GERB

7 November 2014

Croatia

Andrej Plenković

Prime Minister

HDZ

19 October 2016

Cyprus

Nicos Anastasiades

President

DISY

28 February 2013

Germany

Angela Merkel

Chancellor

CDU

22 November 2005

Greece

Kyriakos Mitsotakis

Prime Minister

ND

8 July 2019

Hungary

Viktor Orbán

Prime Minister

Fidesz

29 May 2010

Ireland

Leo Varadkar

Taoiseach[a 1]

Fine Gael

22 June 2017

Latvia

Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš

Prime Minister of Latvia

Unity

23 January 2019

Romania

Klaus Iohannis

President

PNL

21 December 2014

From the accompanying table along with the article excerpts listed at the end.

State the answer to the question: What does the longest standing council member have their doctorate in ? Output only the correct answer as {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Base your answer solely on the given information.

Austria ( /ˈɒstriə/ ( listen ) , /ˈɔːs-/ ; German : Österreich [ ˈøːstɐʁaɪ̯ç ] ( listen ) ) , officially the Republic of Austria ( German : Republik Österreich , listen ( help·info ) ) , is a landlocked East Alpine country in the southern part of Central Europe . It is composed of nine federated states ( Bundesländer ) , one of which is Vienna , Austria 's capital and its largest city . It is bordered by Germany to the northwest , Czech Republic to the north , Slovakia to the northeast , Hungary to the east , Slovenia and Italy to the south , and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west . Austria occupies an area of 83,879 km2 ( 32,386 sq mi ) and has a population of nearly 9 million people . While German is the country 's official language , many Austrians communicate informally in a variety of Bavarian dialects . Austria initially emerged as a margraviate around 976 and developed into a duchy and archduchy . In the 16th century , Austria started serving as the heart of the Habsburg Monarchy and the junior branch of the House of Habsburg - one of the most influential royal dynasties in history . As an archduchy , it was a major component and administrative centre of the Holy Roman Empire . Early in the 19th century , Austria established its own empire , which became a great power and the leading force of the German Confederation but pursued its own course independently of the other German states . Following the Austro-Prussian War and the compromise with Hungary , the Dual Monarchy was established . Austria was involved in World War I under Emperor Franz Joseph following the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand , the presumptive successor to the Austro-Hungarian throne . After the defeat and the dissolution of the Monarchy , the Republic of German-Austria was proclaimed with the intent of the union with Germany , which eventually failed because of the Allied Powers and the state remained unrecognized .
Sebastian Kurz ( German pronunciation : [ zeˈbastˌi̯a : n ˈkʊrt͡s ] ; born 27 August 1986 ) is the chancellor of Austria since January 2020 , previously holding this position from December 2017 to May 2019 . In addition , Kurz has been the chairman of the Austrian People 's Party since May 2017 . Kurz was born and raised in Meidling , Vienna . He acquired his Matura in 2004 at the GRG 12 Erlgasse and subsequently completed mandatory military service in 2005 . Following the same year , Kurz attended the faculty of law ( Juridicum ) at the University of Vienna , but voluntarily left before graduating to focus on his political career . Kurz entered politics when he joined the Young People 's Party ( JVP ) in 2003 . Five years later he assumed his first political office there as chairman of the JVP for Vienna . In 2010 , Kurz successfully ran for the Viennese State Diet and thereby obtained his first governmental post . Following a reshuffle of the First Faymann cabinet in 2011 , Kurz was nominated and appointed state secretary of the Interior Ministry for social integration . After the 2013 legislative election , Kurz became foreign minister of Austria and retained this position until 2017 . Following the resignation of Vice Chancellor Reinhold Mitterlehner as chairman of the People 's Party ( ÖVP ) in May 2017 , Kurz was named his successor . Mitterlehner 's withdrawal from politics led to the end of the Kern cabinet and triggered a legislative snap election in 2017 ; in which Kurz participated as the top candidate of his party , gaining tremendous popularity with his core topics of immigration and social politics .
The Chancellor of Austria ( German : Bundeskanzler der Republik Österreich , lit . 'Federal Chancellor of the Republic of Austria ' ) is the head of government of the Austrian Republic . The position corresponds to that of Prime Minister in other parliamentary democracies . The term is gendered in the German language . Austria is led by a chancellor - Kanzler Sebastian Kurz - since 7 January 2020 , after concluding the process of forming a coalition following the September 2019 Austrian parliamentary elections . Kurz , the youthful leader of the ÖVP and former head of a coalition government with the FPÖ that was brought down by a vote of no confidence following the Ibiza scandal , won a resounding victory over his party 's former coalition partners , but not a majority of seats in the National Council , the lower house of the Austria 's Parliament . Kurz negotiated with the Green Party to form what became an unprecedented variant of a coalition government at the federal level , but would not mark the first success of the environmentalist movement in national politics . Austria 's nominally nonpartisan federal president , Alexander Van der Bellen , had made his name in Austrian politics as a leader of the Greens . Austria has never yet had a female president . Bierlein was the Second Republic 's first Kanzlerin , albeit only of a nonpartisan caretaker government .
The Austrian People 's Party ( German : Österreichische Volkspartei ; ÖVP ) is a conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Austria . A successor to the Christian Social Party of the late 19th and early 20th centuries , it was founded immediately following the reestablishment of the Republic of Austria in 1945 and since then has been one of the two largest Austrian political parties with the Social Democratic Party of Austria ( SPÖ ) . In federal governance , the ÖVP has spent most of the postwar era in a grand coalition with the SPÖ . However , the ÖVP won the 2017 election , having the greatest number of seats and formed a coalition with the right-wing populist Freedom Party of Austria ( FPÖ ) . Its chairman Sebastian Kurz is the youngest Chancellor in Austrian history and currently the world 's youngest leader .
Bulgaria ( /bʌlˈɡɛəriə , bʊl-/ ( listen ) ; Bulgarian : България , romanized : Balgariya ) , officially the Republic of Bulgaria ( Bulgarian : Република България , romanized : Republika Balgariya , IPA : [ rɛˈpublikɐ bɐɫˈɡarijɐ ] ) , is a country in Southeast Europe . It is bordered by Romania to the north , Serbia and North Macedonia to the west , Greece and Turkey to the south , and the Black Sea to the east . The capital and largest city is Sofia ; other major cities are Plovdiv , Varna and Burgas . With a territory of 110,994 square kilometres ( 42,855 sq mi ) , Bulgaria is Europe 's 16th-largest country . One of the earliest societies in the lands of modern-day Bulgaria was the Neolithic Karanovo culture , which dates back to 6,500 BC . In the 6th to 3rd century BC the region was a battleground for Thracians , Persians , Celts and ancient Macedonians ; stability came when the Roman Empire conquered the region in AD 45 . The Eastern Roman , or Byzantine , Empire lost some of these territories to an invading Bulgar horde in the late 7th century . The Bulgars founded the First Bulgarian Empire in AD 681 , which dominated most of the Balkans and significantly influenced Slavic cultures by developing the Cyrillic script . This state lasted until the early 11th century , when Byzantine emperor Basil II conquered and dismantled it . A successful Bulgarian revolt in 1185 established a Second Bulgarian Empire , which reached its apex under Ivan Asen II ( 1218-1241 ) . After numerous exhausting wars and feudal strife , the Second Bulgarian Empire disintegrated in 1396 and its territories fell under Ottoman rule for nearly five centuries . The Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 resulted in the formation of the current Third Bulgarian State .
Boyko Metodiev Borisov ( Bulgarian : Бойко Методиев Борисов , IPA : [ ˈbɔjko mɛˈtɔdiɛf boˈrisof ] ; born 13 June 1959 ) is a Bulgarian politician who has been serving as Prime Minister of Bulgaria since May 2017 . He was previously Prime Minister on two other occasions , from 2009 to 2013 , and from 2014 to January 2017 , making him Bulgaria 's third-longest serving Prime Minister to date . Borisov was elected Mayor of Sofia in 2005 . In December 2006 , he was the founding chairman of the conservative political party Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria ( GERB ) , becoming the new party 's lead candidate for the 2009 general election . Borisov led GERB to a landslide victory in 2009 , defeating the incumbent Socialist Party , and resigned as Mayor of Sofia in order to be sworn in as Prime Minister . Borisov resigned in 2013 , after nationwide protests against the government 's energy policy , but after leading GERB to victory in the 2014 general election , he became Prime Minister for a second time . His second term ended similarly to his first , after Borisov resigned in January 2017 , this time following GERB 's defeat in the 2016 presidential election . As before , Borisov led GERB to election victory again in the snap 2017 general election , becoming Prime Minister for a third time . Under Borisov 's cabinets , Bulgaria has seen improved macroeconomic stability . Concurrently , Bulgaria has remained the EU 's poorest member , with nearly a quarter of its population remaining below national poverty lines . Foreign direct investment has fallen , and rampant corruption has led to the rejection of Bulgaria 's Schengen Area bids . Significantly , electoral results of Borisov or his party have been overshadowed by allegations of election fraud and manipulation in 2013 , 2015 , and in 2019 on both local and European Parliament elections .
The Prime Minister of Bulgaria ( Bulgarian : Министър-председател , Ministar-predsedatel ) is the head of government of Bulgaria . He or she is the leader of a political coalition in the Bulgarian parliament - known as the National Assembly of Bulgaria ( Bulgarian : Народно събрание , Narodno sabranie ) - and the leader of the cabinet . The current Prime Minister is Boyko Borisov .
GERB ( Bulgarian : ГЕРБ ) is a conservative , populist Bulgarian political party established on 13 March 2006 . The initials of the party герб/gerb also translate as coat of arms in Bulgarian . It is Bulgaria 's second-largest party by membership .
Croatia ( /kroʊˈeɪʃə/ ( listen ) , kroh-AY-shə ; Croatian : Hrvatska , pronounced [ xř̩ʋaːtskaː ] ) , officially the Republic of Croatia ( Croatian : Republika Hrvatska , listen ( help·info ) ) , [ d ] is a country in Southeast Europe . It borders Slovenia to the northwest , Hungary to the northeast , Serbia to the east , Bosnia and Herzegovina , and Montenegro to the southeast , sharing a maritime border with Italy . Its capital , Zagreb , forms one of the country 's primary subdivisions , along with twenty counties . Croatia has an area of 56,594 square kilometres ( 21,851 square miles ) and a population of 4.28 million , most of whom are Roman Catholics . Croatia has been inhabited since the Paleolithic Age . The Croats arrived in the area in the 6th century and organised the territory into two duchies by the 9th century . Croatia was first internationally recognized as an independent state on 7 June 879 during the reign of duke Branimir . Tomislav became the first king by 925 , elevating Croatia to the status of a kingdom , which retained its sovereignty for nearly two centuries . During the succession crisis after the Trpimirović dynasty ended , Croatia entered a personal union with Hungary in 1102 . In 1527 , faced with Ottoman conquest , the Croatian Parliament elected Ferdinand I of Austria to the Croatian throne . In October 1918 , in the final days of World War I , the State of Slovenes , Croats and Serbs , independent from Austria-Hungary , was proclaimed in Zagreb , and in December 1918 it was merged into the Kingdom of Serbs , Croats and Slovenes ( renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929 ) . Following the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941 , most of the Croatian territory was incorporated into a Nazi-backed client-state , the Independent State of Croatia .
Andrej Plenković ( listen ) ( Croatian pronunciation : [ ǎndreːj plěːŋkoʋitɕ ] ; born 8 April 1970 ) is a Croatian politician serving as the 12th and current Prime Minister of Croatia since 2016 . He has been the Chairman of the Croatian Democratic Union ( HDZ ) since 2016 . Previously he was one of eleven Croatian members of the European Parliament , serving from Croatia 's accession to the European Union in 2013 until his resignation as MEP when he took office as Prime Minister . Following his graduation from the Zagreb Faculty of Law in 1993 , Plenković held various bureaucratic positions in the Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs . After completing a postgraduate degree in 2002 ( research master in International law ) , he served as deputy chief of Croatia 's mission to the EU . Between 2005 and 2010 , he was Croatia 's deputy ambassador to France , before leaving the post to become State Secretary for European Integration . He was subsequently elected to the Croatian Parliament in 2011 . He was elected President of the HDZ in 2016 , following Tomislav Karamarko 's resignation . Plenković campaigned on a pro-European and moderate agenda and led his party to a plurality of seats in the 2016 parliamentary election . He was designated as the 12th Prime Minister of Croatia by President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović on 10 October 2016 after presenting 91 signatures of support by Members of Parliament to her . His cabinet was confirmed by a vote of Parliament on 19 October with a majority of 91 of 151 MPs . His cabinet has 20 ministers , including the newly created portfolio of Minister of State Property .
The prime minister of Croatia ( Croatian : Premijer/ Premijerka Hrvatske ) , officially the president of the Government of the Republic of Croatia ( Croatian : Predsjednik/ Predsjednica Vlade Republike Hrvatske ) , is Croatia 's head of government , and is de facto the most powerful and influential state officeholder in the Croatian system of government . Following the first-time establishment of the office in 1945 , the 1990-2000 semi-presidential period is the only exception where the president of Croatia held de facto authority . In the formal Croatian order of precedence , however , the position of prime minister is the third highest state office , after the president of the Republic and the speaker of the Parliament . The Constitution of Croatia prescribes that Parliament supervises the Government ( Article 81 ) and that the President of the Republic ensures the regular and balanced functioning and stability of government ( as a whole ; Article 94 ) , while the Government is introduced in Article 108 . Since 2000 , the prime minister has had various added constitutional powers and is mentioned before the Government itself in the text of the Constitution , in Articles 87 , 97 , 99 , 100 , 101 , 103 , 104 . The current prime minister of Croatia is Andrej Plenković . The Government of Croatia meets in Banski dvori , a historical building located on the west side of St. Mark 's Square in Zagreb .
The Croatian Democratic Union ( Croatian : Hrvatska demokratska zajednica or HDZ , literally Croatian Democratic Community ) is a liberal conservative political party and the main centre-right political party in Croatia . It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Croatia , along with the centre-left Social Democratic Party ( SDP ) . It is currently the largest party in the Sabor with 55 seats . The HDZ ruled Croatia from 1990 before the country gained independence from Yugoslavia until 2000 and , in coalition with junior partners , from 2003 to 2011 , and since 2016 . The party is a member of the European People 's Party ( EPP ) . HDZ 's leader , Andrej Plenković , is the current Prime Minister of Croatia , having taken office following the 2016 Parliamentary Election .
Cyprus ( /ˈsaɪprəs/ ( listen ) ; Greek : Κύπρος [ ˈcipros ] ; Turkish : Kıbrıs [ ˈkɯbɾɯs ] ) , officially the Republic of Cyprus ( Greek : Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία , lit . Cypriot Republic ; Turkish : Kıbrıs Cumhuriyeti , lit . Republic of Cyprus ) , is an island country in the Eastern Mediterranean and the third-largest and third-most populous island in the Mediterranean , located south of Turkey , west of Syria and Lebanon , north of Israel , the Gaza Strip ( Palestinian region ) and Egypt , and southeast of Greece . The earliest known human activity on the island dates to around the 10th millennium BC . Archaeological remains from this period include the well-preserved Neolithic village of Khirokitia , and Cyprus is home to some of the oldest water wells in the world . Cyprus was settled by Mycenaean Greeks in two waves in the 2nd millennium BC . As a strategic location in the Middle East , it was subsequently occupied by several major powers , including the empires of the Assyrians , Egyptians and Persians , from whom the island was seized in 333 BC by Alexander the Great . Subsequent rule by Ptolemaic Egypt , the Classical and Eastern Roman Empire , Arab caliphates for a short period , the French Lusignan dynasty and the Venetians , was followed by over three centuries of Ottoman rule between 1571 and 1878 ( de jure until 1914 ) . Cyprus was placed under the UK 's administration based on the Cyprus Convention in 1878 and was formally annexed by the UK in 1914 . While Turkish Cypriots made up 18% of the population , the partition of Cyprus and creation of a Turkish state in the north became a policy of Turkish Cypriot leaders and Turkey in the 1950s . Turkish leaders for a period advocated the annexation of Cyprus to Turkey as Cyprus was considered an extension of Anatolia by them ; while , since the 19th century , the majority Greek Cypriot population and its Orthodox church had been pursuing union with Greece , which became a Greek national policy in the 1950s . Following nationalist violence in the 1950s , Cyprus was granted independence in 1960 .
Nicos Anastasiades ( Greek : Νίκος Αναστασιάδης [ ˈnikos anastasiˈaðis ] ; born 27 September 1946 ) is a Cypriot politician who has been President of Cyprus since 2013 . He was re-elected in 2018 . Previously , he was the leader of Democratic Rally between 1997 and 2013 and served as Member of Parliament from Limassol between 1981 and 2013 .
The president of Cyprus is the head of state and the head of government of the Republic of Cyprus . The office was created in 1960 , after Cyprus gained its independence from the United Kingdom . Currently , the president of Cyprus is Nicos Anastasiades , since 28 February 2013 . Uniquely among member states of the European Union , in Cyprus the roles of head of state and government are combined , making Cyprus the only EU state with a full presidential system of government . The 1960 Constitution provides for a Turkish Cypriot vice president with extensive veto rights , but since 1963 the Turkish Cypriots officials abandoned all state positions , including the position of the vice president , which has been vacant ever since . The president is officially addressed as His Excellency .
The Democratic Rally ( Greek : Δημοκρατικός Συναγερμός ( ΔΗΣΥ ) , Dimokratikós Sinagermós ( DISY ) ) , is a liberal-conservative , Christian-democratic political party in Cyprus led by Averof Neofytou . The party was founded on 4 July 1976 by veteran politician Glafcos Clerides . Clerides served as the president of Cyprus from 1993 until 2003 . The current President of Cyprus , Nicos Anastasiades ( in office since 2013 ) , is a member and former leader of the party .
Germany ( German : Deutschland , German pronunciation : [ ˈdɔʏtʃlant ] ) , constitutionally the Federal Republic of Germany ( German : Bundesrepublik Deutschland , listen ( help·info ) ) , [ f ] is a country in Central and Western Europe . It borders Denmark to the north , Poland and the Czech Republic to the east , Austria and Switzerland to the south , France to the southwest , and Luxembourg , Belgium , and the Netherlands to the west . Germany includes 16 constituent states , covers an area of 357,386 square kilometres ( 137,988 sq mi ) , and has a largely temperate seasonal climate . With 83 million inhabitants , it is the second most populous state of Europe after Russia , the most populous state lying entirely in Europe , as well as the most populous member state of the European Union . Germany is a very decentralised country . Its capital and largest metropolis is Berlin , while Frankfurt serves as its financial capital and has the country 's busiest airport . Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity . A region named Germania was documented before AD 100 . Beginning in the 10th century , German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire . During the 16th century , northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation . After the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire , the German Confederation was formed in 1815 . The German revolutions of 1848-49 resulted in the Frankfurt Parliament establishing major democratic rights .
Angela Dorothea Merkel ( /ˈmɜːrkəl , ˈmɛərkəl/ , German : [ aŋˈɡeːla doʁoˈteːa ˈmɛʁkl̩ ] ; [ a ] née Kasner ; born 17 July 1954 ) is a German politician serving as the chancellor of Germany since 2005 . She served as the leader of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union ( CDU ) from 2000 to 2018 . Merkel has been widely described as the de facto leader of the European Union , the most powerful woman in the world , and by some commentators as the leader of the free world . Merkel was born in Hamburg in then-West Germany and moved to East Germany as an infant when her father , a Lutheran clergyman , received a pastorate in Perleberg . She obtained a doctorate in quantum chemistry in 1986 and worked as a research scientist until 1989 . Merkel entered politics in the wake of the Revolutions of 1989 , and briefly served as a deputy spokesperson for the first democratically elected East German Government headed by Lothar de Maizière in 1990 . Following German reunification in 1990 , Merkel was elected to the Bundestag for the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern , and has been reelected ever since . As the protégée of Chancellor Helmut Kohl , Merkel was appointed as the Federal Minister for Women and Youth in Kohl 's government in 1991 , and became the Federal Minister for the Environment , Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety in 1994 . After her party lost the federal election in 1998 , Merkel was elected Secretary-General of the CDU before becoming the party 's first female leader two years later in the aftermath of a donations scandal that toppled Wolfgang Schäuble . Following the 2005 federal election , Merkel was appointed Germany 's first female chancellor at the head of a grand coalition consisting of the CDU , its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union ( CSU ) and the Social Democratic Party of Germany ( SPD ) . In the 2009 federal election the CDU obtained the largest share of the vote , and Merkel was able to form a coalition government with the Free Democratic Party ( FDP ) . At the 2013 federal election , Merkel 's CDU won a landslide victory with 41.5% of the vote and formed a second grand coalition with the SPD , after the FDP lost all of its representation in the Bundestag .
The title Chancellor has designated different offices in the history of Germany . It is currently used for the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany ( German : Bundeskanzler ( in ) der Bundesrepublik Deutschland ) , the head of government of Germany . The term , dating from the Early Middle Ages , is derived from the Latin term cancellarius . The modern office of chancellor evolved from the position created for Otto von Bismarck in the North German Confederation in 1867 ; this federal state evolved into a German nation-state with the 1871 Unification of Germany . The role of the chancellor has varied greatly throughout Germany 's modern history . Since the founding of the Federal Republic , the chancellor has been the country 's effective leader , although in formal protocol , the Bundespräsident and Bundestagspräsident are ranked higher . In German politics , the chancellor is the equivalent of a prime minister in many other countries . The chancellor is elected by the Bundestag . The current , official title in German is Bundeskanzler ( in ) , which means Federal Chancellor , and is sometimes shortened to Kanzler ( in ) . The 8th and current chancellor of the Federal Republic is Angela Merkel , who was elected in 2005 and re-elected in 2009 , 2013 and 2017 , serving her fourth term in office . She is the first woman to be elected chancellor . Merkel is also the first chancellor elected since the fall of the Berlin Wall to have been raised in the former East Germany ( GDR ) .
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany ( German : Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands or CDU ; German pronunciation : [ ˈkʁɪstlɪç ˌdemoˈkʁaːtɪʃə ʔuˈni̯oːn ˈdɔʏtʃlants ] ) is a Christian-democratic , liberal-conservative political party in Germany . It is the major catch-all party of the centre-right in German politics . The CDU forms the CDU/CSU grouping , also known as the Union , in the Bundestag with its Bavarian counterpart the Christian Social Union in Bavaria ( CSU ) . Founded in 1945 as an interdenominational Christian party , the CDU effectively replaced the pre-war Catholic Centre Party , but also included politicians of other backgrounds , liberal and conservative . The party therefore claims to represent Christian-social , liberal and conservative elements . The leader of the CDU is Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer . She is the successor of the former party leader Angela Merkel , who is the current Chancellor of Germany . On February 10 , 2020 she announced to resign from the position as party leader after several political scandals . The CDU is a member of the Centrist Democrat International , International Democrat Union and European People 's Party ( EPP ) .
Greece ( Greek : Ελλάδα ) , officially the Hellenic Republic ( Greek : Ελληνική Δημοκρατία ) , historically also known as Hellas , is a country located in Southeast Europe . Its population is approximately 10.7 million as of 2018 ; Athens , the nation 's capital , is its largest city , followed by Thessaloniki . Situated on the southern tip of the Balkan Peninsula , Greece is located at the crossroads of Europe , Asia , and Africa . It shares land borders with Albania to the northwest , North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north , and Turkey to the northeast . The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland , the Ionian Sea to the west , the Cretan Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to the south . Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin and the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km ( 8,498 mi ) in length , featuring many islands , of which 227 are inhabited . Eighty percent of Greece is mountainous , with Mount Olympus being the highest peak at 2,918 metres ( 9,573 ft ) . The country consists of nine traditional geographic regions : Macedonia , Central Greece , the Peloponnese , Thessaly , Epirus , the Aegean Islands ( including the Dodecanese and Cyclades ) , Thrace , Crete , and the Ionian Islands . Greece is considered the cradle of Western civilisation , being the birthplace of democracy , Western philosophy , Western literature , historiography , political science , major scientific and mathematical principles , Western drama and the Olympic Games . From the eighth century B.C. , the Greeks were organised into various independent city-states , known as poleis ( singular polis ) , which spanned the entire Mediterranean region and the Black Sea . Philip of Macedon united most of the Greek mainland in the fourth century BC , with his son Alexander the Great rapidly conquering much of the ancient world , from the eastern Mediterranean to India . Greece was annexed by Rome in the second century B.C. , becoming an integral part of the Roman Empire and its successor , the Byzantine Empire , which adopted the Greek language and culture .
Kyriakos Mitsotakis ( Greek : Κυριάκος Μητσοτάκης ; born 4 March 1968 ) is a Greek politician serving as Prime Minister of Greece since 8 July 2019 . A member of New Democracy , he has been its president since 2016 . Mitsotakis previously was Leader of the Opposition from 2016 to 2019 and Minister of Administrative Reform from 2013 to 2015 . He was first elected to the Hellenic Parliament for the Athens B constituency in 2004 . After New Democracy suffered two election defeats in 2015 , he was elected the party 's leader in January 2016 . Three years later , on 7 July 2019 , he led his party to a majority in the 2019 election , their first since 2007 . He is the son of former Prime Minister Konstantinos Mitsotakis .
The Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic ( Greek : Πρωθυπουργός της Ελληνικής Δημοκρατίας , Pro̱thypourgós ti̱s Elli̱nikí̱s Di̱mokratías ) , colloquially referred to as the Prime Minister of Greece ( Greek : Πρωθυπουργός της Ελλάδας , Pro̱thypourgós ti̱s Elládas ) , is the head of government of the Hellenic Republic and the leader of the Greek Cabinet . The incumbent Prime Minister is Kyriakos Mitsotakis , who took office on 8 July 2019 . The officeholder 's official seat ( but not residence ) is the Maximos Mansion in the centre of Athens . The office is described in the Constitution either as Prime Minister or President of the Government ( Πρόεδρος της Κυβερνήσεως ) . This is the reason why the Prime Minister is also addressed as Mr. President .
The New Democracy ( ND ; Greek : Νέα Δημοκρατία , Nea Dimokratia , IPA : [ ˈnea ðimokraˈtia ] ) is a liberal-conservative political party in Greece . In modern Greek politics , New Democracy has been the main centre-right political party and one of the two major parties along with its historic rival , the Panhellenic Socialist Movement ( PASOK ) . New Democracy , alongside PASOK , were created in the wake of the toppling of the military junta in 1974 , which ruled Greece alternately for the previous four decades . Following the electoral decline of PASOK , New Democracy remained one of the two major parties in Greece , the other being the Coalition of the Radical Left ( SYRIZA ) . Having spent four and a half years in opposition to SYRIZA 's government , New Democracy regained its majority in the Hellenic Parliament and returned to government under Kyriakos Mitsotakis after the 2019 legislative election . The traditional support of New Democracy comes from an electorate leaning to the right and conservatives . From a geographical perspective , its main support base is in the rural areas of Greece as well as the city centers of Athens and Thessaloniki . Its support is generally weak in areas like West Greece , Attica , Crete and the Aegean Islands . The party was founded in 1974 by Konstantinos Karamanlis and in the same year it formed the first cabinet of the Third Hellenic Republic . New Democracy is a member of the European People 's Party , the Centrist Democrat International and the International Democrat Union .
Hungary ( Hungarian : Magyarország [ ˈmɒɟɒrorsaːɡ ] ( listen ) ) is a country in Central Europe . Spanning 93,030 square kilometres ( 35,920 sq mi ) in the Carpathian Basin , it borders Slovakia to the north , Ukraine to the northeast , Romania to the east and southeast , Serbia to the south , Croatia and Slovenia to the southwest , and Austria to the west . With about 10 million inhabitants , Hungary is a medium-sized member state of the European Union . The official language is Hungarian , which is the most widely spoken Uralic language in the world , and among the few non-Indo-European languages to be widely spoken in Europe . Hungary 's capital and largest city is Budapest ; other major urban areas include Debrecen , Szeged , Miskolc , Pécs and Győr . The territory of modern Hungary was for centuries inhabited by a succession of peoples , including Celts , Romans , Germanic tribes , Huns , West Slavs and the Avars . The foundations of the Hungarian state were established in the late ninth century CE by the Hungarian grand prince Árpád following the conquest of the Carpathian Basin . His great-grandson Stephen I ascended the throne in 1000 , converting his realm to a Christian kingdom . By the 12th century , Hungary became a regional power , reaching its cultural and political height in the 15th century . Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526 , Hungary was partially occupied by the Ottoman Empire ( 1541-1699 ) . It came under Habsburg rule at the turn of the 18th century , and later joined Austria to form the Austro-Hungarian Empire , a major European power . The Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed after World War I , and the subsequent Treaty of Trianon established Hungary 's current borders , resulting in the loss of 71% of its territory , 58% of its population , and 32% of ethnic Hungarians .
Viktor Mihály Orbán ( Hungarian : [ ˈviktor ˈorbaːn ] ( listen ) ; born 31 May 1963 ) is a Hungarian politician who has been Prime Minister of Hungary since 2010 ; he was also Prime Minister from 1998 to 2002 . He has also been President of Fidesz , a national conservative political party , since 1993 , with a brief break between 2000 and 2003 . Born in Székesfehérvár , Orbán studied law at Eötvös Loránd University , graduating in 1987 . He briefly studied political science at Pembroke College , Oxford , before returning to Hungary to enter politics in the wake of the Autumn of Nations . He became head of the reformist student movement the Alliance of Young Democrats ( Fiatal Demokraták Szövetsége ) , which would eventually become the Fidesz party . Orbán became a nationally known politician after giving an address at the 1989 reburial of Imre Nagy and other martyrs of the 1956 revolution , in which he openly demanded that Soviet troops withdraw from the country . After the transition to democracy in 1990 , he was elected to the National Assembly and served as the leader of Fidesz 's parliamentary caucus until 1993 . Under his leadership , Fidesz shifted away from its original centre-right , classical liberal , pro-European integration platform toward more right-wing national conservatism . After Fidesz won a plurality of seats in the 1998 election , Orbán was appointed Prime Minister for the first time . Fidesz narrowly lost the 2002 and 2006 elections to the Socialist Party , with Orbán spending this period as Leader of the Opposition . The fall in popularity of the Socialists , exacerbated by Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány 's Őszöd speech , helped Orbán lead Fidesz to a landslide victory in 2010 . Orbán formed a coalition with the Christian Democrats , giving him a supermajority in the National Assembly , which he used to introduce major constitutional and legislative reforms .
The Prime Minister of Hungary ( Hungarian : miniszterelnök ) is the head of government in Hungary . The Prime Minister and the Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Parliament , to their political party and ultimately to the electorate . The current holder of the office is Viktor Orbán , leader of the Fidesz - Hungarian Civic Alliance , who has served since 29 May 2010 . According to the Hungarian Constitution , the Prime Minister is nominated by the President of Hungary and formally elected by the National Assembly . Constitutionally , the President is required to nominate the leader of the political party who wins a majority of seats in the National Assembly as Prime Minister . If there is no party with a majority , the President holds an audience with the leaders of all parties represented in the Assembly and nominates the person who is most likely to command a majority in the Assembly , who is then formally elected by a simple majority of the Assembly . In practice , when this situation occurs , the Prime Minister is the leader of the party winning a plurality of votes in the election , or the leader of the senior partner in the governing coalition . The Prime Minister has a leading role in the executive branch in accordance with the Hungarian Constitution , which vests him with the power to define the general policy of the Government . The Prime Minister selects Cabinet ministers and has the exclusive right to dismiss them . Cabinet nominees appear before one or more parliamentary committees in consultative open hearings . They must then survive a vote by Parliament and be formally approved by the President .
Fidesz - Hungarian Civic Alliance ( Hungarian pronunciation : [ ˈfidɛs ] ; in full , Hungarian : Fidesz - Magyar Polgári Szövetség ) is a national-conservative , right-wing populist political party in Hungary . Founded in 1988 as a liberal youth party opposing the ruling communist government , Fidesz has come to dominate Hungarian politics on the national and local level since its landslide victory in the 2010 national elections on a joint list with the Christian Democratic People 's Party , [ b ] securing it a parliamentary supermajority that it retained in 2014 and again in 2018 . Fidesz also enjoys majorities in the county legislatures ( 19 of 19 ) , but it only has majorities in ( 10 of 23 ) assemblies in the cities with county rights and is currently in a minority ( 13 of 33 ) in the Budapest assembly . Viktor Orbán has been the leader of the party for most of its history .
Ireland ( Irish : Éire [ ˈeːɾʲə ] ( listen ) ) , also known as the Republic of Ireland ( Poblacht na hÉireann ) , is a country in north-western Europe occupying 26 of 32 counties of the island of Ireland . The capital and largest city is Dublin , which is located on the eastern side of the island . Around a third of the country 's population of 4.9 million people resides in the greater Dublin area . The sovereign state shares its only land border with Northern Ireland , a part of the United Kingdom . It is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean , with the Celtic Sea to the south , St George 's Channel to the south-east , and the Irish Sea to the east . It is a unitary , parliamentary republic . The legislature , the Oireachtas , consists of a lower house , Dáil Éireann , an upper house , Seanad Éireann , and an elected President ( Uachtarán ) who serves as the largely ceremonial head of state , but with some important powers and duties . The head of government is the Taoiseach ( Prime Minister , literally 'Chief ' , a title not used in English ) , who is elected by the Dáil and appointed by the President ; the Taoiseach in turn appoints other government ministers . The state was created as the Irish Free State in 1922 as a result of the Anglo-Irish Treaty . It had the status of Dominion until 1937 when a new constitution was adopted , in which the state was named Ireland and effectively became a republic , with an elected non-executive president as head of state . It was officially declared a republic in 1949 , following the Republic of Ireland Act 1948 . Ireland became a member of the United Nations in December 1955 .
Leo Eric Varadkar ( /vəˈrædkər/ və-RAD-kər ; born 18 January 1979 ) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as Taoiseach , Minister for Defence and Leader of Fine Gael since June 2017 . He has also been a Teachta Dála ( TD ) for the Dublin West constituency since 2007 . Varadkar was born in Dublin and studied medicine at Trinity College Dublin . He spent several years as a non-consultant hospital doctor , eventually qualifying as a general practitioner in 2010 . In 2004 , he joined Fine Gael and became a member of Fingal County Council and later served as Deputy Mayor . He was elected to Dáil Éireann for the first time in 2007 . He later served in the Kenny Government , as Minister for Social Protection from 2016 to 2017 , Minister for Health from 2014 to 2016 and Minister for Transport , Tourism and Sport from 2011 to 2014 . In May 2017 , Kenny announced that he would resign as Taoiseach and Fine Gael Leader . Varadkar stood in the leadership election to replace him ; although more party members voted for his opponent , Simon Coveney , he won by a significant margin among members of the Oireachtas , and was elected leader on 2 June . 12 days later , he was appointed Taoiseach , and at 38 years old became the youngest person to hold the office . During the 2015 same-sex marriage referendum , Varadkar came out as gay , becoming the first Irish Minister to do so . He is Ireland 's first , and the world 's fourth , openly gay head of government in modern times , and first Taoiseach of Indian heritage .
The Taoiseach ( /ˈtiːʃəx/ ( listen ) TEE-shəkh , Irish : [ ˈt̪ˠiːʃəx ] ) is the prime minister and head of government of Ireland . [ note 2 ] The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann , the lower house of the Oireachtas ( parliament ) , and must , to remain in office , retain the support of a majority in the Dáil . The word taoiseach means chief or leader in Irish and was adopted in the 1937 Constitution of Ireland as the title of the head of the Government , or Prime Minister . [ note 2 ] Taoiseach is the official title of the head of government in both English and Irish , and is not used for other countries ' prime ministers ( who are referred to in Irish as Príomh Aire ) . The Irish form , An Taoiseach , is sometimes used in English instead of the Taoiseach . Outside of Ireland and the UK , the Taoiseach is sometimes referred to as the Prime Minister of Ireland . Leo Varadkar TD is the current Taoiseach ; he took office on 14 June 2017 , following his election as leader of Fine Gael on 2 June 2017 . Varadkar is the youngest Taoiseach in the history of the Irish state , having taken office at the age of 38 ; he is also the first openly LGBT person , and the first person of Indian descent to lead the Irish government .
Fine Gael ( /ˌfiːnə ˈɡeɪl , ˌfɪn-/ FEE-nə GAYL , FIN-ə -⁠ , Irish : [ ˌfʲɪnʲə ˈɡeːl̪ˠ ] ; English : Family ( or Tribe ) of the Irish ) is a liberal-conservative political party in Ireland . Fine Gael is currently the governing and largest party in Ireland in terms of members of the Oireachtas and Irish members of the European Parliament . The party has a membership of 21,000 and is the senior partner governing in a minority coalition with several independent politicians , with party leader Leo Varadkar serving as Taoiseach . Varadkar succeeded Enda Kenny as party leader on 2 June 2017 and as Taoiseach on 14 June ; Kenny had been leader since 2002 , and Taoiseach since 2011 . Fine Gael was founded on 8 September 1933 following the merger of its parent party Cumann na nGaedheal , the National Centre Party and the National Guard . Its origins lie in the struggle for Irish independence and the pro-Treaty side in the Irish Civil War and Michael Collins , in particular , is often identified as the founder of the movement . Fine Gael is generally considered to be more of a proponent of market liberalism than its traditional rival , Fianna Fáil . Apart from brief minority governments ( as in 1987 ) , Fine Gael has rarely governed Ireland without a coalition that also included the Labour Party , a social-democratic , centre-left party . Fine Gael describes itself as a party of the progressive centre which it defines as acting in a way that is right for Ireland , regardless of dogma or ideology . It lists its core values as equality of opportunity , free enterprise and reward , security , integrity and hope . It is strongly in favour of the European Union and opposed to physical force Irish republicanism . The party 's youth wing , Young Fine Gael , was formed in 1977 , and has approximately four thousand members .
Latvia ( /ˈlɑːtviə/ or /ˈlætviə/ ( listen ) ; Latvian : Latvija [ ˈlatvija ] , Livonian : Lețmō ) , officially known as the Republic of Latvia ( Latvian : Latvijas Republika , Livonian : Lețmō Vabāmō ) , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe . Since its independence , Latvia has been referred to as one of the Baltic states . It is bordered by Estonia to the north , Lithuania to the south , Russia to the east , Belarus to the southeast , and shares a maritime border with Sweden to the west . Latvia has 1,957,200 inhabitants and a territory of 64,589 km2 ( 24,938 sq mi ) . The country has a temperate seasonal climate . The Baltic Sea moderates climate , although it has four distinct seasons and snowy winters . After centuries of Swedish , Polish and Russian rule , a rule mainly executed by the Baltic German aristocracy , the Republic of Latvia was established on 18 November 1918 when it broke away from the Russian Empire and declared independence in the aftermath of World War I . However , by the 1930s the country became increasingly autocratic after the coup in 1934 establishing an authoritarian regime under Kārlis Ulmanis . The country 's de facto independence was interrupted at the outset of World War II , beginning with Latvia 's forcible incorporation into the Soviet Union , followed by the invasion and occupation by Nazi Germany in 1941 , and the re-occupation by the Soviets in 1944 ( Courland Pocket in 1945 ) to form the Latvian SSR for the next 45 years . The peaceful Singing Revolution , starting in 1987 , called for Baltic emancipation from Soviet rule and condemning the Communist regime 's illegal takeover . It ended with the Declaration on the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia on 4 May 1990 and restoring de facto independence on 21 August 1991 . Latvia is a democratic sovereign state , parliamentary republic and a very highly developed country according to the United Nations Human Development Index .
Arturs Krišjānis Kariņš ( born 13 December 1964 ) is an American-born Latvian-American linguist , businessman , and politician who has served as Minister of Economics and Member of the European Parliament , and is currently the Prime Minister of Latvia . Born in Wilmington , Delaware , United States , to parents who had left Latvia during the Soviet occupation , he was active in the American Latvian community throughout his youth . After completing a bachelor 's degree and Ph.D in linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania , Kariņš moved to Latvia in 1997 and founded a frozen food business . He helped found the New Era Party in 2002 , which in 2011 merged with others to form the Unity party and was renamed New Unity in 2018 . After serving as a deputy in Saeima , minister of economics , and a member of European parliament throughout the 2000s and 2010s , he was chosen as the prime minister candidate for New Unity in the 2018 Latvian parliamentary election , which became the smallest party elected into the 13th Saeima . Following months of contentious negotiations in which leaders of the larger parties were unable to form a coalition , Kariņš was nominated by President Raimonds Vējonis in January 2019 as a compromise candidate to form a government . He took office on 23 January 2019 , and survived a 58-33 vote of no confidence on 11 April 2019 .
The Prime Minister of Latvia ( Latvian : Ministru prezidents ) is the most powerful member of the Government of Latvia , and presides over the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers . The Prime Minister is nominated by the President of Latvia , but must be able to obtain the support of a majority of the Saeima ( parliament ) . The tables below display all Latvian Prime Ministers from both the first period of Latvian independence ( 1918-1940 ) and since the country regained its independence ( 1990-present ) . From 1990 to 6 July 1993 , the office was known as Chairman of the Council of Ministers , but is generally considered to have been the same role . A direct translation of the official Latvian term is Minister-President . Although the equivalent is used in some European languages , it is not used conventionally in English .
Unity ( Latvian : Vienotība ) is a liberal-conservative political party in Latvia . It is currently the largest party of the centre-right in Latvian politics and was the leading party in the Dombrovskis and Straujuma cabinets from its inception in 2010 until February 2016 and is a member of the current coalition since January 2019 with its member Krišjānis Kariņš as Prime Minister . Unity is a member of the European People 's Party ( EPP ) .
Romania ( /roʊˈmeɪniə/ ( listen ) ro-MAY-nee-ə ; Romanian : România [ romɨˈni.a ] ( listen ) ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central , Eastern , and Southeastern Europe . It has borders with the Black Sea to the southeast , Bulgaria to the south , Ukraine to the north , Hungary to the west , Serbia to the southwest , and Moldova to the east . It has a predominantly temperate-continental climate . With a total area of 238,397 square kilometers ( 92,046 square miles ) , Romania is the 8th largest country and also the 6th most populous member state of the European Union , having almost 20 million inhabitants . Its capital and largest city is Bucharest , and other major urban areas include Cluj-Napoca , Timișoara , Iași , Constanța , Craiova , Brașov , and Galați . The River Danube , Europe 's second-longest river , rises in Germany 's Black Forest and flows in a general southeast direction for 2,857 km ( 1,775 mi ) , coursing through ten countries before emptying into Romania 's Danube Delta . The Carpathian Mountains , which cross Romania from the north to the southwest , include Moldoveanu Peak , at an altitude of 2,544 m ( 8,346 ft ) . Modern Romania was formed in 1859 through a personal union of the Danubian Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia . The new state , officially named Romania since 1866 , gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1877 . Following World War I after declaring its neutrality in 1914 , when Romania fought on the side of the Allied powers starting with 1916 , Bukovina , Bessarabia , Transylvania as well as parts of Banat , Crișana , and Maramureș became part of the sovereign Kingdom of Romania . In June-August 1940 , as a consequence of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and Second Vienna Award , Romania was compelled to cede Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to the Soviet Union , and Northern Transylvania to Hungary . In November 1940 , Romania signed the Tripartite Pact and , consequently , in June 1941 entered World War II on the Axis side , fighting against the Soviet Union until August 1944 , when it joined the Allies and recovered Northern Transylvania .
Klaus Werner Iohannis ( Romanian pronunciation : [ ˈkla.us joˈhanis ] , German : [ ˈklaʊ̯s joˈhanɪs ] ; also spelled Johannis ; born 13 June 1959 ) is an ethnically German politician from Romania , serving since 2014 as the president of Romania . He became leader of the National Liberal Party ( PNL ) in 2014 , after having served as leader of the Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania ( DFDR/FDGR ) from 2001 to 2013 . Iohannis was a physics teacher and a school inspector before entering full-time politics . Iohannis was elected the mayor of the city of Sibiu in 2000 , representing the Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania . Although the German population of the once predominantly German-speaking city of Sibiu ( German : Hermannstadt , Transylvanian Saxon dialect : Härmeschtat ) had declined to a tiny minority , Iohannis won a surprise victory and was re-elected by landslides in 2004 , 2008 , and 2012 . Iohannis is credited with turning his city into one of Romania 's most popular tourist destinations , and the city was declared the European Capital of Culture in 2007 . In February 2013 , Iohannis became a member of the National Liberal Party , accepting an invitation from then liberal leader Crin Antonescu , and was immediately elected the party 's First Vice President , eventually becoming the PNL President during the following year . In October 2009 , four of the five political groups in the Parliament , excluding the Democratic Liberal Party of then-President Traian Băsescu , proposed him as a candidate for the office of Prime Minister of Romania ; however , Băsescu refused to nominate him despite the Parliament 's adoption of a declaration supporting his candidacy . He was again the candidate for Prime Minister of the National Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party in the elections in the same year . Iohannis is the first Romanian president to come from an ethnic minority . He is a Transylvanian Saxon , part of Romania 's German minority which settled in Transylvania in the 12th century . He was re-elected in the 2019 Romanian presidential election .
The president of Romania is the head of state of Romania . The president is directly elected by a two-round system for a five-year term ( since 2004 , after the Constitution was modified in 2003 ) . An individual may serve two terms . During his or her term in office , the president may not be a member of any political party . The office of president was created in 1974 , when Communist leader Nicolae Ceaușescu elevated the presidency of the State Council to a full-fledged executive presidency . It gradually took its current form in stages after the Romanian Revolution , culminating with the adoption of Romania 's current constitution in 1991 . The current president of Romania is Klaus Iohannis , since 21 December 2014 .
The National Liberal Party ( Romanian : Partidul Național Liberal , PNL ) is a political liberal and conservative-liberal party in Romania . Refounded in 1990 , it claims the legacy of the major political party of the same name , active between 1875 and the late 1940s in the Kingdom of Romania . Based on this legacy , it often presents itself as the first formally constituted political party in the country and the oldest party from the family of European liberal parties . Until 2014 , the PNL was a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe ( ALDE ) . The party statutes adopted in June 2014 dropped any reference to international affiliation , consequently most of its MEPs joined the European People 's Party group ( EPP ) in the European Parliament . On 12 September 2014 , it was admitted as a full member of the European People 's Party , and subsequently merged with the Democratic Liberal Party . The party was also a member of the Liberal International before switching to Centrist Democrat International . Currently , it is the second-largest party in the Romanian Parliament , with 78 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 28 in the Senate , behind the opposition Social Democratic Party ( PSD ) .