First Cabinet of Alexis Tsipras

First Cabinet of Alexis Tsipras
cabinet of Greece
Alexis Tsipras in 2015
Date formed	26 January 2015
Date dissolved	27 August 2015
People and organisations
Head of government	Alexis Tsipras
Deputy head of government	Yannis Dragasakis
Head of state	Prokopis Pavlopoulos
Number of ministers	13
Member parties	Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA), Independent Greeks (ANEL) (with participation from Ecologist Greens and independents)
Status in legislature	SYRIZA-led coalition government
Opposition parties	New Democracy Golden Dawn To Potami Communist Party of Greece (KKE) Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK)
Opposition leader	Antonis Samaras
History
Election(s)	Greek legislative election, January 2015
Predecessor	Samaras Cabinet
Successor	Thanou-Christophilou Caretaker Cabinet

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.

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 The Ecologist Greens (OP), which had withdrawn from the election in support of SYRIZA, were given the office of Alternate Minister of Environment and Energy.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-Tsaroucha^a		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 Toskas^a		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 Kontonis^a		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 Sgouridis^a		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 – present
	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 Quick^a		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 Sakellaridis^a		SYRIZA	27 January 2015 – 17 July 2015
	Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister	Terence Quick^a		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. In a letter to Alexis Tsipras, Valavani described the package as a "capitulation".^[18] Valavani was succeeded in her role by Tryfon Alexiadis on 17 July, as part of the cabinet reshuffle.^[19]

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 swon in on 18 July. The most notable move was to remove Panagiotis Lafazanis from his ministerial role.^[19][20]

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:

• Christophoros Vernardakis became the Alternate Minister of Administrative Reform
• Tryfon Alexiadis became the Alternate Minister of Finance
• Dimitris Vitsas became the Alternate Minister of National Defence
• Pavlos Haikalis became the Deputy Minister of Social Security
• Pavlos Polakis became an Alternate Minister of Interior and Administrative Reconstruction
• Sia Anagnostopoulou became the Alternate Minister of European Affairs
• Giannis Amanatidis became an Alternate Foreign Minister

References:^{[19][20][15][21]}

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".^[20]

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). 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. "Greek deputy finance minister resigns over debt deal". RT. 15 July 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
19. Smith, Helena (17 July 2015). "Alexis Tsipras reshuffles cabinet to get rid of bailout dissidents". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
20. "New Greek ministers sworn in after Tsipras' cabinet reshuffle". Hurriyet Daily News. 18 July 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
21. Adamopoulos, Anastassios (18 July 2015). "The 8 New Faces of the Greek Government: Tsipras Reshuffles Cabinet". Greek Reporter. Retrieved 12 August 2015.