Which position did Alexis Tsipras hold from Jul 2019 to Jul 2020?
Alexis Tsipras Alexis Tsipras ( , ; born 28 July 1974 ) is a Greek politician serving as Leader of the Official Opposition since 2019 . The leader of left-wing party Syriza since 2009 , he served as Prime Minister of Greece from 2015 to 2019 . Tsipras has been Leader of the Coalition of the Radical Left ( Syriza ) , a left wing political party , since 2009 . He was the fourth Greek Prime Minister who has governed in the course of the 2010s government-debt crisis . Originally an outspoken critic of the austerity policies implemented during the crisis , his tenure in office was marked by an intense austerity policy , mostly in the context of the third EU bailout to Greece ( 2015–2018 ) . Tsipras was born in Athens in 1974 . He joined the Communist Youth of Greece in the late 1980s and in the 1990s was politically active in student protests against education reform plans , becoming the movements spokesperson . He studied civil engineering at the National Technical University of Athens , graduating in 2000 , later undertaking post-graduate studies in urban and regional planning . He worked as a civil engineer in the construction industry , based primarily in Athens . From 1999 to 2003 , Tsipras served as the secretary of Synaspismos Youth . He was elected as a member of the Central Committee of Synaspismos in 2004 and later the Political Secretariat . In the 2006 local election , he ran as Syrizas candidate for Mayor of Athens , winning 10.5% . In 2008 , he was elected as Leader of Syriza , succeeding Alekos Alavanos . He was first elected to the Hellenic Parliament representing Athens A in the 2009 election and was re-elected in May and June 2012 , subsequently becoming Leader of the Opposition and appointing his own shadow cabinet . In January 2015 , Tsipras led Syriza to victory in a snap legislative election , winning 149 out of 300 seats in the Hellenic Parliament and forming a coalition with the Independent Greeks . On 20 August 2015 , seven months into his term as prime minister , he lost his majority after intraparty defections ; he then announced his resignation and called for a snap election to take place the following month . In the September 2015 election that followed , Tsipras led Syriza to another victory , winning 145 out of 300 seats and re-forming the coalition with the Independent Greeks . During his premiership , he oversaw negotiations regarding the Greek government-debt crisis , initiated the Greek bailout referendum and responded to the European migrant crisis . In 2015 , he was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people globally . As Prime Minister of Greece , the opposition parties accused Tsipras of , among other things , having capitulated to enacting increasingly harsh austerity measures to keep his country on the surface ( in contrast with his pre-election promises ) and of having exacerbated problems that already existed in the Greek economy , with the country having lost about 25% of its GDP since the start of the crisis . Early life and career . Alexios ( Alexis ) Tsipras was born 28 July 1974 in Athens . His father , Pavlos , was from Athamania in Epirus and was a public works contractor , while his mother , Aristi , was born in Eleftheroupoli , a town in Greek Macedonia . His maternal grandparents were from the village of Babaeski , Eastern Thrace , Turkey and moved to Eleftheroupoli as a result of the 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey . Tsipras joined the Communist Youth of Greece in the late 1980s . In the early 1990s , as a student at Ampelokipoi Multi-disciplinary High School , he was politically active in the student uprising and the school occupations against the controversial law of Education Minister Vasilis Kontogiannopoulos . He rose to prominence as a representative of the student movement when he was featured as a guest on a television show hosted by journalist Anna Panagiotarea . During the interview , Panagiotarea implied that Tsipras was being disingenuous in defending middle and high school students right to absenteeism without parental notification in the context of protests . Newspapers and opposition politicians contrasted his early activism for the free state education to his choice to enroll his children in private schools when he became prime-minister . Tsipras studied civil engineering at the National Technical University of Athens , graduating in 2000 , before undertaking postgraduate studies in Urban and Regional Planning following an inter-departmental MPhil at the School of Architecture of NTUA . Alongside his postgraduate studies , he began working as a civil engineer in the construction industry . He wrote three studies and projects on the theme of the city of Athens . As a university student , Tsipras joined the ranks of the renascent left-wing movement , particularly the Enceladus ( ) group , and as member of it , he was elected to the executive board of the students union of the Civil Engineering School of NTUA and also served as student representative on the University Senate . From 1995 to 1997 he was an elected member of the Central Council of the National Students Union of Greece ( EFEE ) . Political career , 1999–2015 . After the departure of the Communist Party of Greece from Synaspismos in 1991 , Tsipras remained in the coalition . In May 1999 he became the first political secretary of Synaspismos youth-wing , the Synaspismos Youth . During this period he was described as a centrist , different from the very clear radical , left-wing profile he would later maintain as leader of Synaspismos . He won many awards during this time . In November 2003 , he was succeeded by Tasos Koronakis and moved on to the mother party . He managed quite efficiently to maintain a strong adherence to the policy of the party , effectively out talking both the left and right political wings . As secretary of Synaspismos Youth , he took an active part in the process of creating the Greek Social Forum and attended many of the international protests and marches against neoliberal globalization . In December 2004 , at the 4th Congress of Synaspismos , he was elected a member of the partys Central Political Committee and consequently to the Political Secretariat , where he was responsible for educational and youth issues . Tsipras first entered the limelight of mainstream Greek politics during the 2006 local election when he ran for Mayor of Athens under the Anoikhti Poli ( Greek : Ανοιχτή Πόλη , Open City ) Syriza ticket that gained 10.51% of the Athenian vote , finishing third overall . Tsipras won a seat on the Municipality of Athens council by virtue of him being first on the Syriza list . He did not run for the Greek Parliament in the 2007 election , choosing to continue the completion his term as a member of the municipal council of Athens . Tsipras was elected Leader of Synaspismos during its 5th Congress on 10 February 2008 , after its previous Leader Alekos Alavanos decided not to stand for election again due to personal reasons . Tsipras became leader of Synaspismos at the age of 33 , thus becoming the youngest leader of a Greek political party since 1931 . In the 2009 election , he was elected to the Hellenic Parliament for Athens A and was subsequently voted unanimously to be the head of the Syriza parliamentary group . Tsipras led SYRIZA through the 2012 elections , overseeing a swing of over 22% to the party and becoming the Leader of the Opposition and head of the Shadow Cabinet of Alexis Tsipras . In December 2013 , Tsipras was the first candidate proposed for the position of president of the Commission of the European Union by the European United Left–Nordic Green Left ( GUE/NGL ) . The vote was an EU member states election to the European Parliament in May 2014 . Tsipras campaigned as the only candidate of the south periphery countries . At the beginning of May 2014 , in a speech in Berlin , he clarified many of his positions , in opposition to the allegedly Merkel-dominated neoliberal political course in Europe . Tsipras declared a substantial change for a better future for all Europeans is visible within 10 years . He addressed those who lost out in the fallout of the financial crises from 2008 to 2014 , which produced unexpectedly high jobless rates in most of the EU . The speech was given in English to a German audience and intended to be listened to throughout Europe . Although the GUE/NGL won in Greece , winning six of the 21 Greek seats in the European Parliament , it finished fifth in Europe overall . Prime Minister . First term ( January–August 2015 ) . Tsipras led Syriza to victory in the general election held on 25 January 2015 , falling short of an outright majority in Parliament by just two seats . The following morning , Tsipras reached an agreement with the right-wing populist Independent Greeks party to form a coalition . On the same day he was sworn in by President Karolos Papoulias as the youngest Prime Minister in Greek history since 1865 , using the words I declare in my name , honour and conscience to uphold the Constitution and its laws . Tsipras was also the first prime minister to take a civil oath rather than a religious oath of office , marking a rupture with Greek orthodox ceremonial culture . While reaffirming the good relations between his party and the Church , he generated further religious controversy during a meeting with Archbishop Ieronymos . Tsipras explained that as an atheist who neither married in a religious ceremony nor baptised his children , he would not take a religious oath of office . In his first act after being sworn in , Tsipras visited the Resistance Memorial in Kaisariani , laying down red roses to commemorate the 200 members of the Greek Resistance executed by the German Wehrmacht on 1 May 1944 . During the first meeting of the new cabinet , Tsipras declared the priorities of his government to be the fight against the humanitarian crisis in Greece , negotiations with the EU and the International Monetary Fund on restructuring the Greek debt , and the implementation of promises made by SYRIZA such as the abolition of the previous governments privatization policies . On 3 February , Tsipras made his first official state visit , meeting with his Italian counterpart Matteo Renzi in Rome . They held a joint press conference expressing concerns about austerity measures imposed by the Juncker Commission and stated that economic growth is the only way to exit from the crisis . After the press conference , Renzi presented Tsipras with an Italian tie as a gift . Tsipras , who is notable for never wearing ties , thanked Renzi and said that he would wear the gift in celebration when Greece had successfully renegotiated the austerity measures . On 20 February , the Eurogroup came to an agreement with Greece to extend the Greek bailout for four months . Tsipras had also announced a trip to Moscow on 8 April , in a bid to secure Russian support . On 31 May , Tsipras laid out his complaints and outlined his plan in a recap of events since his election . He concluded that there were at least two competing visions for the integration of Europe , both of which he seemed to reject , and that certain unnamed institutional actors had an obsession with their own technocratic programme . On 22 June , Tsipras presented a new Greek proposal , which included raising the retirement age gradually to 67 and curbing early retirement . It also offered to reform the value-added-tax system to set the main rate at 23 percent . On 29 June Greek banks stayed shut and Tsipras said they would remain so to impose capital control . Trading in Greek stocks and bonds halted as well . Bailout referendum . On 27 June 2015 , Tsipras announced a referendum to decide whether or not Greece should accept the bailout conditions proposed jointly by the Juncker Commission , the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank . Tsipras recommended a No vote . On 3 July , during an address to at least 250,000 people gathered in the capitals Syntagma Square in front of parliament , he rejected some leaders warnings that a No result in Sundays plebiscite could see Greece forced to leave the eurozone . He declared On Sunday , we are not simply deciding to remain in Europe—we are deciding to live with dignity in Europe . The result of the referendum was 61.3 percent voting No . Fidel Castro sent a letter to Tsipras congratulating him for the victory of NO . In that letter he said that the courage of Greece was admired by the people of Latin America and Caribbean . Bailout agreement . After several days of negotiation , on 13 July 2015 , Tsipras came to an agreement with lenders . Greece was to get a loan of 82 to 86 billion euros , which would be handed to Greece gradually from 2015 until June 2018 . In return , Greece would have to increase the VAT , reform the pension system , assure the independence of ELSTAT , automatically cut public spending to get primary surpluses , reform justice so decisions can be made faster , follow the reforms proposed by OECD , revoke the laws passed by Tsipras except for the one concerning the humanitarian crisis , recapitalize the banks , privatize 50 billion of state assets , and decrease the cost of the public sector . In return , Greece would be given the Juncker package , 35 billion euros , which is meant to help the Greek economy grow . The Syriza-led government of Greece accepted a bailout package that contains larger pension cuts and tax increases than the one rejected by Greek voters in the referendum . On 14 August , the Greek parliament backed the countrys new bailout deal , although more than 40 MPs from Syriza voted against the deal and Tsipras had to rely on the support of the pro-EU opposition : New Democracy , To Potami and PASOK . Tsipras told MPs they were facing a choice between staying alive or suicide . He also said : I have my conscience clear that it is the best we could achieve under the current balance of power in Europe , under conditions of economic and financial asphyxiation imposed upon us . Resignation . On 20 August 2015 , Tsipras resigned from position of the Prime Minister of Greece due to the rebellion of MPs from his own party Syriza and called for a snap election . He made the announcement in a televised state address . After opposition parties failed to form a government , Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou was appointed as an interim prime minister until elections could be held . Second term ( September 2015–July 2019 ) . Re-election . Despite a low turnout of only 57% versus 64% in previous elections , at the 20 September election , Tsipras received a solid vote of confidence , with Syriza achieving 35.50% of the vote , enough to form a coalition with ANEL . Among others , Tsipras appointed in his new government Dimitris Kammenos , a politician from ANEL , as deputy minister for infrastructure , transport and networks , causing reactions because of Kammenos anti-Semitic , racist and homophobic comments on Twitter , such as accusations of 9/11 being a Jewish plot . The outcry against him eventually forced Kammenos to resign , being a minister for less than 12 hours . Second government . At a September 2015 Clinton Global Initiative event , Tsipras spoke to Bill Clinton about the need to restructure the Greek debt , to make reforms in public administration and bring investments . The same month , Defense Minister Panos Kammenos celebrated the Greek victory in the battle of Salamina , causing criticism due to the juntas celebrations of similar events with the same style . In 2015 , Tsipras and Kammenos oversaw the military exercise Parmenion . In October 2015 , Tsipras sacked Greeces top tax collection official , Katerina Savvaidou , because she had allegedly granted an extension to television stations to pay a 20% tax on advertising . The governments fiscal measures prompted some backlash , with farmers threatening to bring their tractors into Athens and pharmacists going on strike . In November 2015 , Tsipras received an angry reception at a refugee camp in Lesbos by around a hundred protesters , wearing life jackets and brandishing placards calling on the European Union to stop deaths by allowing asylum seekers safe and legal passage to Europe . In November 2015 , after being jeered by anarchists , Tsipras compared them in his speech in Parliament to Golden Dawn and said that there was no need for uncalled saviors who think that they can determinate life and death . In November 2015 , Tsipras became the first Greek prime minister to visit Turkeys Aegean province of Izmir since the days of the Occupation of Smyrna , meeting Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu ; they agreed to cooperate on the refugee crisis and to establish technical cooperation between Greek and Turkish coast guards . In December 2015 , he introduced the Cohabitation agreement for the same sex-couples.The bill was approveed by the Greek Parliament on 23 December 2015 . On March 19 , 2016 , Tsipras spoke at a conference of the Alliance Against Austerity for Democracy in Europe held in Athens . In his speech , he expressed concern over the possibility of Donald Trump becoming US President . He said as follows : “Tell me who of you would believe a few months ago that in the US today , the front-runner on behalf of the Republicans for the nomination of the candidate President would be Mr . Trump ? And of course what this nomination marks , the ideas it represents , the appeal it reaches , and the threat to become even President – I hope we will not face this evil.” In May 2016 , new austerity measures proposed by Tsipras passed Parliament . The legislation increased taxes to middle- and high-level income earners ; make across-the-board budget cuts amounting to about 3% of Greeces GDP ; removed value-added-tax discounts ; cut pensions ; and increase deregulation . Tsipras called for calm on the streets and defended the austerity package , saying it fell in line with the agreement reached with the EU the previous year . Further austerity legislation included a provision for contingency measures , including wage and pension cuts , that would take effect automatically if budget targets were derailed next year . Taxes on cigarettes , coffee and craft beer were also raised , while an unpopular property tax was restructured to increase revenues from larger buildings . A new privatisation agency was set up which would have a 99-year remit to develop and sell state-owned property . Tsipras defended his adoption of new fiscal measures , telling Parliament : Spring may be almost over but we are looking forward to an economic spring and a return to growth this year . In a July 2017 , Tsipras opined that the Greek economy was on the up and that the worst is clearly behind us . He also expressed confidence that Greece will no longer have to rely on bailouts and international oversight in 2018 . According to media reports from mid-July , Greece was considering rejoining the bond market for the first time since 2014 to borrow from the capital market . It was speculated that the government could issue a five-year bond at a time when yields on Greek bonds are their lowest since the country left the market in 2014 . The announcement came a few days after the IMF in principle approved Greece for a conditional loan of up to $1.8 billion . The IMF made the payment of the loans contingent on Greeces debt sustainability , demanding that euro-zone countries provide debt relief to the country . In October 2017 Prime Minister Tsipras met with President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington , D.C. , at which Trump told Tsipras that he supported a responsible debt relief plan for Greece as they recovered from the economic crisis in the country . Trump added that his administration had informed Congress of a potential sale to upgrade the F-16 aircraft in Greeces air force , a deal that could be worth $2.4 billion . Greece officially concluded its three-year European Stability Mechanism ( ESM ) financial assistance programme on 20 August 2018 , following the disbursement of €61.9 billion by the ESM over three years to support the countrys macroeconomic adjustment and bank recapitalization . ESM Members agreed on the financial assistance package in August 2015 . The conclusion of the ESM programme marks a very important moment and historic for all of us . We had eight very difficult years , often painful years , but now Greece can finally turn a page in a crisis that has lasted too long , according to EU Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs Pierre Moscovici . A day after Moscovicis statement , Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said during a state address from the island of Ithaca : A new day is dawning in our country , today is the beginning of a new era . Tsipras furthermore asserted that the country had regained its sovereignty to determine its own future , reaching a destination that would allow the Greeks to make our place as it deserves to be . In January 2019 , Greece Defence Minister Panos Kammenos and his Independent Greeks party quit Greeces ruling coalition over a deal struck on the Macedonia naming dispute , potentially leaving the governing coalition without a workable majority in parliament . Despite this , some days later , Tsipras managed to win a confidence vote and gain again the support of the absolute majority of the Greek parliament ( 151 votes ) for his government ( this time backed by one political party , i.e . SYRIZA ) . The confidence vote was followed by the successful ratification of the Greek parliament with 153 votes of the Prespa Agreement , an agreement which resolved a long-standing dispute and named Greeces northern neighbour as North Macedonia . Syriza suffered a harsh defeat in the European election on 26 May 2019 , losing to the opposition party New Democracy . Following the defeat , snap elections were called . Syriza was defeated in the 2019 legislative election , scoring 31.53% of votes and securing only 86 seats in the Hellenic Parliament . Tsipras conceded defeat and resigned the following day . His first non-official biography has been written by a French journalist named Fabien Perrier . It is published by François Bourin in France and by Topos in Greece . Personal life . Tsipras is married . His registered partner is Peristera Betty Baziana , an electrical and computer engineer . They met in 1987 , at the age of 13 , at Ampelokipoi Branch High School . Both eventually became members of the Communist Youth of Greece . They live together in Athens with their two sons . Their younger sons middle name is Ernesto , a tribute to the Marxist revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara . Tsipras is an avid football fan and , having grown up near the stadium , supports Panathinaikos , attending every home game that he can . Tsipras is a self-described atheist . His cousin , Giorgos Tsipras , is also a Syriza MP .