- Born:
- May 23, 1951, Athens, Greece (age 75)
- Title / Office:
- prime minister (2012-2015), Greece
- Political Affiliation:
- New Democracy
Antonis Samaras
-
Who is Antonis Samaras?
Antonis Samaras, born in Athens, Greece, on May 23, 1951, is a Greek politician who served as prime minister of Greece from 2012 to 2015.
Samaras, a member of the New Democracy party, served in the Greek parliament from 1977 to 1993. In 1989, he became minister of finance, and later, minister for foreign affairs, serving in two successive governments. After a period with his own Political Spring party, he returned to New Democracy in 2004, holding seats in both the European and Greek parliaments. In 2009, he became minister of culture and president of New Democracy.
As prime minister, Samaras continued economic and public-sector reforms while trying to limit the social and political costs. In January 2015, after failing to elect a new president, his party, New Democracy, finished second to Syriza in snap parliamentary elections, and he handed power to Alexis Tsipras. During Samaras's administration, Kyriakos Mitsotakis served as minister of administrative reform and e-governance.
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When was Antonis Samaras prime minister of Greece?
Antonis Samaras served as the prime minister of Greece from 2012 to 2015. Born on May 23, 1951, in Athens, Greece, Samaras comes from an upper-class family. Before entering politics, he was a teen tennis champion. He holds degrees in economics from Amherst College (1974) and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School (1976). A member of the Greek parliament for the New Democracy party from 1977 to 1993, he later served as minister of finance and foreign affairs. In 2009, he became the minister of culture and president of New Democracy. Samaras formed a coalition government with PASOK and the Democratic Left in June 2012, but by June 2013, the Democratic Left had departed. In January 2015, he handed over the prime minister position to Alexis Tsipras.
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What political party did Antonis Samaras belong to?
Antonis Samaras, who served as prime minister of Greece from 2012 to 2015, belonged to the conservative New Democracy party. He served as a member of the Greek parliament for the New Democracy party from 1977 to 1993. In 1992, Samaras parted ways with New Democracy due to his stance against the newly independent country of Macedonia. After serving in the Greek parliament as a member of the Political Spring party, which he formed in 1993, he returned to New Democracy in 2004. In 2009, he became president of New Democracy.
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What challenges did Greece face while Samaras was prime minister?
During Antonis Samaras's term as prime minister of Greece (2012–2015), the country faced significant challenges stemming from the euro-zone debt crisis. Greece implemented severe austerity measures in exchange for financial bailouts from the EU and the IMF.
Samaras's government focused on economic and public-sector reform to secure continued aid while limiting the social and political costs. In May 2014, his New Democracy party finished second to the anti-austerity Syriza party in elections for the European Parliament.
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How did Antonis Samaras try to address Greece's economic crisis?
During his time as prime minister of Greece (2012-2015), Antonis Samaras aimed to address the country's economic crisis through continued efforts at economic and public-sector reform, seeking to limit the social and political costs while securing aid payments from international lenders. His government sought to strike a balance between these reforms and the need to maintain social and political stability.
Samaras's government projected a return to economic growth in 2014, despite the economy's contraction for the sixth straight year in 2013. These efforts were made to navigate Greece through its financial crisis and to renegotiate the terms of the bailouts. He formed a coalition government with the PASOK party and the Democratic Left, parties that favored remaining on the euro currency. The Democratic Left later departed the ruling coalition in June 2013, due to the closure of state-run Greek Radio-Television (ERT). In May 2014, Samaras and New Democracy finished second to the anti-austerity party Syriza in elections to the European Parliament.
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What was the outcome of Antonis Samaras's leadership for Greece?
Antonis Samaras, as prime minister of Greece from 2012 to 2015, led a coalition government focused on economic and public-sector reform to secure aid from international lenders during the euro-zone debt crisis. His government aimed to limit the social and political costs of these reforms.
Despite a no-confidence vote in November 2013, the government projected economic growth in 2014, even though the economy contracted for the sixth consecutive year in 2013. Samaras's New Democracy party finished second to the anti-austerity Syriza party in the May 2014 European Parliament elections. In January 2015, after failing to elect a new president, Samaras handed over the prime minister role to Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras.
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Antonis Samaras (born May 23, 1951, Athens, Greece) is a Greek politician who served as prime minister of Greece (2012–15).
Samaras was born into an upper-class family. In his youth he played tennis, winning the Greek teen tennis championship at age 17. He pursued higher education in the United States, earning a B.A. in economics from Amherst (Massachusetts) College in 1974 and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1976. From 1977 to 1993 Samaras served as a member of the Greek parliament for the conservative New Democracy party. In 1989 he was appointed minister of finance, and shortly thereafter he became minister for foreign affairs, serving in the position in two successive governments. In 1992 Samaras parted ways with New Democracy over his hard-line stance against the newly independent country of Macedonia, which he believed should not share a name with the Greek region of Macedonia. After a stint in the Greek parliament as a member of the Political Spring party, which he formed in 1993, he returned to New Democracy in 2004 and served terms in the European and Greek parliaments. In 2009 he was appointed minister of culture in Greece and became president of New Democracy.
That year marked the beginning of the euro-zone debt crisis, in which Greek debt played a large role. Over the next several years, Greece implemented severe austerity measures, and the EU and the IMF bailed the country out financially. In the run-up to the 2012 parliamentary elections, New Democracy proclaimed its support for the second bailout plan—although Samaras himself had voted against the initial bailout—and for staying within the euro zone. The party won a narrow victory in the May elections, but Samaras failed to form a government. Elections were held again the following month, with another narrow win for New Democracy. Under pressure to develop a strong plan to guide Greece through its financial crisis and to renegotiate the terms of the bailouts, Samaras formed a coalition government with the social democratic PASOK party and the Democratic Left, leftist parties that also favoured remaining on the euro currency.
Samaras oversaw continued efforts at economic and public-sector reform, as his government sought to limit the social and political costs of both while securing continued aid payments from the country’s international lenders. The Democratic Left departed the ruling coalition in June 2013 in protest over the closure of state-run Greek Radio-Television (ERT). In November the remaining New Democracy–PASOK coalition government survived a no-confidence vote and projected a return to economic growth in 2014, despite the economy’s contraction for the sixth straight year in 2013. Although Samaras and New Democracy finished second to the anti-austerity party Syriza (Coalition of the Radical Left) in elections to the European Parliament in May 2014 that had been cast as a referendum on the government and its handling of the bailout, his coalition continued to cling to its narrow majority in the Greek parliament.
When Stavros Dimas, Samaras’s candidate to replace outgoing Pres. Karolos Papoulias, failed in three parliamentary votes in December to muster the majority required to elect him, parliament was dissolved on December 30. In the resulting snap parliamentary elections on January 25, 2015, New Democracy finished second (with about 28 percent of the vote) to Syriza (which won about 36 percent and 149 seats, two seats short of an absolute majority). Syriza quickly formed a ruling coalition with the Independent Greeks, a smaller anti-austerity party (which won 13 seats). On January 26 Samaras handed over the reins as prime minster to Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras.