Third Hellenic Republic

Hellenic Republic Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Ellīnikī́ Dīmokratía  (Greek)
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: «Ελευθερία ή Θάνατος» (traditional) "Freedom or Death"
Anthem: «Ὕμνος εἰς τὴν Ἐλευθερίαν» "Hymn to Liberty"
Location of  Third Hellenic Republic  (dark green) – in Europe  (green & dark grey) – in the European Union  (green)  –  [Legend]
Capital and largest city		Athens 37°58′N 23°43′E / 37.967°N 23.717°E
Official language and national language		Greek
Religion		Eastern Orthodoxy Greek Orthodoxy (prevailing faith)
Demonym		Greek
Government		Unitary parliamentary constitutional republic
•	President	Prokopis Pavlopoulos
•	Prime Minister	Alexis Tsipras
•	Speaker of the Parliament	Nikos Voutsis
Legislature		Hellenic Parliament
Formation of the Republic
•	Independence declared from the Ottoman Empire	25 March 1821 (traditional starting date of the Greek War of Independence), 15 January 1822 (official declaration in the First National Assembly at Epidaurus)
•	Recognized	3 February 1830
•	Current constitution	11 June 1975
Area
•	Total	131,957 km^2[1] (97th) 50,949 sq mi
•	Water (%)	0.8669
Population
•	2015 estimate	10,955,000[2]
•	2011 census	10,816,286[3] (80th)
•	Density	82[4]/km^2 (120th) 212/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2016 estimate
•	Total	$287.114 billion[5] (51st)
•	Per capita	$26,606[5] (44th)
GDP (nominal)		2016 estimate
•	Total	$194.594 billion[5] (44th)
•	Per capita	$18,035[5] (38th)
Gini (2014)		34.5[6] medium
HDI (2014)		0.865[7] very high · 29th
Currency		Euro (€) (EUR)
Time zone		EET (UTC+2)
•	Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Date format		dd/mm/yyyy (AD)
Drives on the		right
Calling code		+30
ISO 3166 code		GR
Internet TLD		.gr^a
^a.	The .eu domain is also used, as in other European Union member states.

Third Hellenic Republic (Greek: Γ΄ Ελληνική Δημοκρατία) is the period in modern Greek history that stretches from 1974, with the fall of Greek military junta and the final abolition of the Greek monarchy, to the present day.

It is considered the third period of republican rule in Greece, following the First Republic during the Greek War of Independence (1821–32) and the Second Republic during the temporary abolition of the monarchy in 1924–35. The term "Metapolitefsi" (Μεταπολίτευση) is commonly used for this period, but this term concerns more often with the first years immediately after the fall of the military junta. While the First and Second Hellenic Republics aren't in common use except in a historiographic context, the term Third Hellenic Republic is used frequently.^[8][9]

Features of the Third Hellenic Republic are the development of social freedoms, the human growth, the European orientation of Greece and the political dominance of the parties ND and PASOK. On the contrary this period includes high corruption, deterioration of some economic indexes such as the public debt and nepotism mostly in political scene and the state seats.^[10][11][12]

Events

This period is marked by great changes. In 1981 Greece joined in EU. Simultaneously the centre-left party PASOK won the election and changed the Greek political scenery. During 1990 the living standard of Greeks was improved importantly, nevertheless the Olympic Games of 2004 was the climax. On 1 January 2001, Greece adopted the Euro that was introduced in the country on 1 January 2002. At the last months of 2009, the Greek debt crisis broke out, an event that brought about great changes both social and political level.

Presidents of the Third Hellenic Republic

• Michail Stasinopoulos (1974–75)
• Konstantinos Tsatsos (1975–80)
• Konstantinos Karamanlis (1980–85)
• Christos Sartzetakis (1985–90)
• Konstantinos Karamanlis (1990–95)
• Konstantinos Stefanopoulos (1995–2005)
• Karolos Papoulias (2005–2015)
• Prokopis Pavlopoulos (since 2015)

Political parties in Third Hellenic Republic

1974–1989

This period began with the centrists and centre-right being dominant, though the former lost support in the late 1970s with the rise of PASOK. Also the Communist Party of Greece was allowed to take part in elections for first time after the end of the Greek Civil War. The table below shows the results of elections during this period.

	Political position/ Ideology	Political Party	1974 Legislative Elections	1977 Legislative Elections	1981 Legislative Elections	1981 European Elections	1984 European Elections	1985 Legislative Elections	1989 European Elections	1989 June Legislative Elections	1989 Nov Legislative Elections
			%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
	Communist	KKE	–	9.36	10.93	12.84	11.64	9.89	–	–	–
		KKE interior	–	–	1.37	5.30	3.42	1.84	–	–	–
	Left-wing	United Left	9.47	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
		SPADE	–	2.72	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
		SYN	–	–	–	–	–	–	14.31	13.13	10.97
	Centre-left	PASOK	13.58	25.34	48.06	40.12	41.58	45.82	35.96	39.13	40.97
	Ecologists	Alternative Ecologists	–	–	–	–	–	–	1.11	–	0.58
	Centre	Centre Union	20.42	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
		EDIK	–	11.95	0.40	1.12	0.28	–	0.28	–	–
		KODISO	–	–	0.72	4.26	0.80	–	–	–	–
		Liberal Party	–	–	0.37	1.04	0.35	0.17	0.40	0.10	0.08
		Christian Democracy	–	–	0.15	1.12	0.45	–	0.41	0.20	–
	Liberatists	New Liberals	–	1.08	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
	Centre-right	New Democracy	54.37	41.84	35.88	31.34	38.05	40.85	40.41	44.28	46.19
		DIANA	–	–	–	–	–	–	1.36	–	1.00
	Right-wing	EDE	1.08	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
		National Alignment	–	6.82	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
		Progressive Party	–	–	1.69	1.96	–	–	–	–	–
	Far-right	EPEN	–	–	–	–	2.29	0.60	1.16	0.30	–

1990–2007

This period began with the fall of communist regimes in eastern Europe. It is characterized by the reinforcement of bipartisanship with the two main parties (New Democracy and PASOK) regularly polling over 80% of the vote between them, even reaching 86%.

	Political position/ Ideology	Political Party	1990 Legislative Elections	1993 Legislative Elections	1994 European Elections	1996 Legislative Elections	1999 European Elections	2000 Legislative Elections	2004 Legislative Elections	2004 European Elections	2007 Legislative Elections
			%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
	Communist	KKE	–	4.54	6.29	5.61	8.67	5.52	5.90	9.48	8.15
	Left-wing	SYN/SYRIZA	10.28	2.94	6.25	5.12	5.16	3.20	3.26	4.16	5.04
	Centre-left	PASOK	38.61	46.88	37.64	41.49	32.91	43.79	40.55	34.03	38.10
		DIKKI	–	–	–	4.43	6.85	2.69	1.79	–	–
	Ecologists	Alternative Ecologists	0.77	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
		Ecologist Greens	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	0.67	1.05
	Centre	Union of Centrists	–	0.23	1.19	0.70	0.82	0.34	0.26	0.56	0.29
	Liberatists	The Liberals	–	–	–	–	1.62	–	–	–	–
	Centre-right	New Democracy	46.89	39.30	32.66	38.12	36.00	42.74	45.36	43.02	41.84
		DIANA	0.67	–	2.79	–	–	–	–	–	–
	Right-wing	Political Spring	–	4.88	8.65	2.94	2.28	–	–	–	–
	Far-right	EPEN	–	0.14	0.78	0.24	–	–	–	–	–
		Golden Dawn	–	–	–	0.11	0.07	–	–	–	–
		LAOS	–	–	–	–	–	–	2.19	4.12	3.80

2009–2015

This period corresponds to Greek debt crisis, that changed dramatically the political stage. Early in the period, PASOK were able to capitalise on a loss of support for ND. However, by the early 2010s, PASOK were also attracting blame for their handling of the crisis, and the radical party SYRIZA became the largest party on the left. The position of the far-right was also strengthened in this period.

	Political position/ Ideology	Political Party	2009 European Elections	2009 Legislative Elections	2012 May Legislative Elections	2012 June Legislative Elections	2014 European Elections	2015 Jan. Legislative Elections	2015 Sept. Legislative Elections
			%	%	%	%	%	%	%
	Communist	KKE	8.35	7.54	8.48	4.50	6.11	5.47	5.55
		ANTARSYA	0.43	0.36	1.19	0.33	0.72	0.64	0.85
	Left Wing	SYRIZA	4.70	4.60	16.79	26.89	26.57	36.34	35.46
		Popular Unity	—	—	—	—	—	—	2.86
	Centre-Left	PASOK/Olive Tree/Dem. Coal.	36.64	43.92	13.18	12.28	8.02	4.68	6.28
		Democratic Left	—	—	6.11	6.25	1.20	0.49	—
		Social Agreement	—	—	0.96	—	—	—	—
		The River	—	—	—	—	6.60	6.05	4.09
		KIDISO	—	—	—	—	—	2.46	—
	Ecologist	Ecologist Greens	3.49	2.53	2.93	0.88	0.90	—	—
	Centre	Union of Centrists	0.38	0.27	0.61	0.28	0.65	1.79	3.43
		Teleia	—	—	—	—	—	1.77	—
	Liberatist	Drassi	0.76	—	1.80	—	—	—	—
		Recreate Greece	—	—	2.15	—	—	—	0.53
		Democratic Alliance	—	—	2.55	—	—	—	—
		Drassi/Recreate Greece	—	—	—	1.59	0.91	—	—
		Greek European Citizens	—	—	—	—	1.40	—	—
	Centre-Right	New Democracy	32.29	33.48	18.85	29.66	22.72	27.81	28.10
	Right Wing	PAMME	1.27	–	–	–	–	–	—
		Independent Greeks	—	—	10.62	7.51	3.46	4.75	3.69
		UFP	—	—	—	—	1.04	—	—
	Far Right	LAOS	7.14	5.63	2.89	1.58	2.69	1.03	—
		Golden Dawn	0.46	0.29	6.97	6.92	9.39	6.28	6.99

See also

• List of Prime Ministers of Greece#Third Hellenic Republic (1974–present)

References

1. "Country Comparison: Area". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
2. "United Nations world population prospects"(PDF) 2015 Revision
3. Απογραφή Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2011. ΜΟΝΙΜΟΣ Πληθυσμός [Results of Population-Housing Census 2011 concerning the permanent population of the country] (PDF) (in Greek). 20 March 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
4. "Announcement of the results of the 2011 Population Census for the Resident Population" (PDF). Hellenic Statistical Authority. 28 December 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
5. "Report for Selected Countries and Subjects". World Economic Outlook Database, April 2016. Washington, D.C.: International Monetary Fund. 12 April 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2016.
6. "Gini coefficient of equivalised disposable income (source: SILC)". Luxembourg: Eurostat. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
7. "2015 Human Development Report" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
8. Ιορδάνογλου, Χρυσάφης Ι. (2002). Γερνώντας μαζί με την τρίτη ελληνική δημοκρατία. Εκδόσεις Παρατηρητής. ISBN 960-374-232-5.
9. Μαυρογένης, Γιώργος (2008). Πολιτική Επικοινωνία & ΜΜΕ (Κεφάλαιο 17: Πολιτική Επικοινωνία στην Τρίτη Ελληνική Δημοκρατία). Εκδόσεις Σταμούλη. ISBN 9789603517566.
10. "H ποιότητα στην Γ΄ Ελληνική Δημοκρατία". kathimerini.gr. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
11. "Η Μεταπολίτευση, μία σύντομη αποτίμηση". kathimerini.gr. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
12. "Τρίτη Ελληνική Δημοκρατία. Του Γ. Ρωμαίου". tvxs.gr. Retrieved 29 January 2015.