GREEK REPUBLIC Official name: Elliniki Dhimokratia (Greek Republic) Location: South Eastern Europe International organisations: The Council of Europe, The European Union, The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, The United Nations, The Western European Union, The World Trade Organisation Borders: Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Turkey Coastline: Aegean Sea, Ionian Sea, Mediterranean Sea Land area: 131,940 Km2 Population: 10,600,000

Ethnicity: Over 95% of the population is Greek. There are small Turkish, Slav and Albanian minorities in the north.
Languages: Greek is the official language and is almost universally used. Turkish, South Slav and Albanian languages are spoken in some border areas.
Religion: Almost the whole population are at least nominally Orthodox Christian. The Greek Orthodox Church enjoys certain legal privileges. The monastic community of Mount Athos enjoys legal autonomy. There is a small Moslem minority.
Form of government: Parliamentary democratic republic. Greece is divided into 51 prefectures and the Mount Athos autonomous region.

Capital: Athens (Athinai)
Constitution: The Constitution of the Greek Republic came into effect on 11 June 1975.
Head of state: The President, elected by the legislature for a five-year term. The President's functions are largely ceremonial. Karolos Papoulias was elected President in February 2005.
Head of government: The Prime Minister, appointed by the President. The Prime Minister is the leader of the largest party in the legislature and is accountable to it.
Legislature: Greece has a unicameral legislature, the Parliament of the Greeks (Vouli ton Ellinon), which has 300 members, elected for four-year terms from single- and multi-seat constituencies.
Electoral authority: The Elections Division of the Interior Ministry administers national elections.
Freedom House 2005 rating: Political Rights 1, Civil Liberties 2

Political history

The area which is now Greece came under the rule of the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century. Greek national consciousness emerged after the French Revolution, and in 1821 a revolt against Ottoman rule broke out. After years of bitter warfare Greece was recognised as an independent state in 1830, and a German prince was imported as King Othon in 1833. Greece suffered from endemic corruption and misgovernment, as well as several wars with the Ottomans, through the rest of the 19th century.

The crusading liberal Eleftherios Venezelos became Prime Minister in 1910, and under his leadership Greece joined the First World War on the Allied side in the hope of securing more territory, including Constantinople, from the Ottomans. The Treaty of Sevres gave Greece East Thrace and territory around Smyrna, but the Greeks were routed by the Turkish nationalists. This debacle led to the fall of the monarchy and the establishment of a republic in 1925.

The monarchy was restored in 1935 and King George II allowed General Ioannis Metaxas to establish a dictatorship. In 1941 Greece was invaded and occupied by Germany, and during the occupation a powerful Communist-dominated resistance movement developed. When the Germans withdrew in 1944, the Communists attempted to take power, but were prevented by British troops. The resulting bitter civil war lasted until 1949.

Greece was governed by conservatives such as Konstantinos Karamanlis until a liberal government under Georgios Panandreou was elected in 1963. In 1967 there was a right-wing army coup, and the military regime held power until 1974, when a crisis over Cyprus brought its downfall. With democracy restored in the land of its birth, the monarchy was abolished by referendum, and Greece has enjoyed stability and increasing prosperity since.

Greek politics since 1974 have been dominated by the left-wing Pan-Hellenic Socialist Movement or PASOK, led for many years by the colourful Andreas Papandreou and now by his son George. It has alternated in power with the conservative New Democracy (ND). In the March 2004 elections PASOK was defeated by ND after eleven years in power, with ND's Kostas Karamanlis becoming Prime Minister. Minor parties include the Communist Party of Greece and the left-wing Coalition of the Left and Progress and Democratic Social Movement.