Alexis Tsipras

Alexis Tsipras
Aλέξης Τσίπρας
Tsipras in 2018
Prime Minister of Greece
In office 21 September 2015 – 8 July 2019
President	Prokopis Pavlopoulos
Deputy	Yannis Dragasakis
Preceded by	Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou
Succeeded by	Kyriakos Mitsotakis
In office 26 January 2015 – 27 August 2015
President	Karolos Papoulias Prokopis Pavlopoulos
Deputy	Yannis Dragasakis
Preceded by	Antonis Samaras
Succeeded by	Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou
Leader of the Opposition
In office 8 July 2019 – 29 June 2023
Prime Minister	Kyriakos Mitsotakis
Preceded by	Kyriakos Mitsotakis
Succeeded by	Sokratis Famellos
In office 20 June 2012 – 26 January 2015
Prime Minister	Antonis Samaras
Preceded by	Antonis Samaras
Succeeded by	Antonis Samaras
Minister for Foreign Affairs
In office 20 October 2018 – 15 February 2019
Preceded by	Nikos Kotzias
Succeeded by	Georgios Katrougalos
President of Syriza
In office 17 June 2012 – 24 September 2023
Preceded by	Alekos Alavanos
Succeeded by	Stefanos Kasselakis
President of Synaspismos
In office 11 February 2008 – 10 July 2013
Preceded by	Alekos Alavanos
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Member of the Hellenic Parliament
Incumbent
Assumed office 4 October 2009
Constituency	Athens A (2009–2015) Heraklion (2015–2019) Achaea (2019–2023) Piraeus A (2023–present)
Personal details
Born	(1974-07-28) 28 July 1974 (age 49) Athens, Greece
Political party	Syriza (2009–present)
Other political affiliations	Communist (1988–1991) Synaspismos (1999–2013)
Domestic partner	Peristera Baziana
Children	2
Residence	Kypseli, Athens
Education	National Technical University of Athens
Occupation	Politician Civil engineer
Signature

This article is part of a series about Alexis Tsipras
Political offices President of Syriza (2008–2023) Opposition Leader (2012–15; 2019–2023) Prime Minister of Greece (2015; 2015–19) Early political life Genoa G8 summit Protests 2006 Athens Mayoral election Leader of the Opposition First term First Shadow Cabinet Thessaloniki Programme 2014–15 presidential election Second term Second Shadow Cabinet 2020 presidential election COVID-19 pandemic in Greece 2021 Greek protests Wiretapping Scandal Prime Minister of Greece First term January 2015 legislative election Government formation First Tsipras cabinet 2014-2015 presidential election Relaunch of ERT 2015 bailout referendum Tenth austerity package Eleventh austerity package Third Memorandum Second term September 2015 legislative election Second Tsipras cabinet 2015 European migrant crisis Twelfth austerity package Cohabitation Agreement Thirteenth austerity package Turkish military asylum incident Prespa agreement Kleisthenis I 2018 Attica wildfires July 2019 election
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Alexis Tsipras (Greek: Αλέξης Τσίπρας, pronounced [aˈleksis ˈt͡sipras]; born 28 July 1974)^[1] is a Greek politician who served as Prime Minister of Greece from 2015 to 2019.

A left-wing figure, Tsipras was leader of the Greek political party Syriza from 2008 to 2023. Tsipras is the fourth prime minister who has governed in the course of the 2010s Greek 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 (2015–18).

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 movement's spokesperson. He studied civil engineering at the National Technical University of Athens, graduating in 2000, and later undertook 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 Syriza's 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, 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. As prime minister, he oversaw negotiations regarding the Greek government-debt crisis, initiated the Greek bailout referendum, responded to the European migrant crisis, and signed the Prespa agreement. In 2015, he was named by TIME magazine as one of the 100 most influential people globally.^[2]

As Prime Minister of Greece, the opposition parties have accused Tsipras among other things of having capitulated to enacting increasingly harsh austerity measures to keep his country on the surface in contrast with his pre-election promises and also 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.^[3]