Caretaker Cabinet of Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou

The Caretaker Cabinet of Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou was formed following the resignation of the Syriza-ANEL coalition government on 20 August 2015, and the failure of opposition parties to form their own government. The cabinet was headed by Thanou-Christophilou, the President of the Court of Cassation, who was sworn in as Prime Minister on 27 August 2015, and the rest of the cabinet were sworn in the next day on 28 August. The cabinet remained in office until the completion of the legislative election on 20 September 2015.

Caretaker Cabinet of Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou

Cabinet of Greece
Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou in 2015
Date formed27 August 2015 (2015-08-27)
Date dissolved21 September 2015 (2015-09-21)
People and organisations
Head of stateProkopis Pavlopoulos
Head of governmentVassiliki Thanou-Christophilou
No. of ministers22
Member partiesIndependents and others
Status in legislatureTechnocratic caretaker government
Opposition partiesNone (caretaker cabinets in Greece have no formal opposition)
History
PredecessorFirst Tsipras Cabinet
SuccessorSecond Tsipras Cabinet

Background

On 20 August 2015, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who was leading a Syriza-ANEL coalition government, resigned following a rebellion by party members on a key vote related to the third bailout package. Tsipras said that he needed a stronger mandate in order to implement the bailout package, and so called for a snap legislative election to take place in September.[1]

According to the Greek constitution, the President of Greece could not just call an election, but had to consult all the major parties in turn to see if they could form their own government, described by The Guardian at the time as "a near impossibility given the current makeup of the parliament."[2] On 27 August, the President, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, informed the party leaders that there was no chance of a coalition government being formed by the existing parliament.[3]

That evening, Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou was sworn in as the caretaker Prime Minister of Greece.[3] On 28 August, the rest of the caretaker cabinet were sworn in at the Presidential Mansion. Later that day, Pavlopoulos signed a degree for the snap election, setting the date at 20 September. Also, the caretaker cabinet had their first meeting where they agreed to work towards an "impeccable" election.[4]

Appointments

George Chouliarakis, an academic economist who had been part of the Greek negotiating team during the talks surrounding the third bailout package, was appointed as Minister of Finance. Petros Molyviatis, a "veteran diplomat", was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs, a role he had held in 2012 and from 2004 to 2006. Alkistis Protopsalti, a singer, was appointed as the Alternate Minister of Tourism.[1]

Composition

The cabinet was composed of ten full ministers, nine alternate ministers, one deputy minister and two Ministers of State, for a total of 22 members. This would become 23 members if the Government Spokesman, Rodolfos Moronis, was included. 20 members of the cabinet (including Moronis) were male; 3 were female.

Only two members of the First Cabinet of Alexis Tsipras remained in the same roles, Panagiotis Nikoloudis as Minister of State for Combatting Corruption and Tryfon Alexiadis as Alternate Minister of Finance. Dimitris Papangelopoulos had formerly served in Tsipras's cabinet as a Deputy Minister for Justice, but served as the Minister of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights in the Caretaker Cabinet.

Cabinet list

Prime Minister
Office Incumbent Party Tenure
Prime Minister Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou Independent 27 August 2015 – 21 September 2015

Cabinet
Ministry Office Incumbent Party Tenure
1.
Ministry of the Interior and Administrative Reconstruction		 Minister of the Interior and Administrative Reconstruction Professor Antonis Manitakis Independent 28 August 2015 – 23 September 2015
Alternate Minister of Citizen Protection Antonis Makrodimitris Independent 28 August 2015 – 23 September 2015
Alternate Minister of Immigration Policy Dr Ioannis Mouzalas Independent 28 August 2015 – present
Deputy Minister for Macedonia and Thrace Filippos Tsalidisa Independent 28 August 2015 – 23 September 2015
2.
Ministry of Economy, Infrastructure, Shipping and Tourism		 Minister of Economy, Infrastructure, Shipping and Tourism Professor Nikos Christodoulakis Independent 28 August 2015 – 23 September 2015
Alternate Minister of Shipping Christos Zois NEA MERA 28 August 2015 – 23 September 2015
Alternate Minister of Tourism Alkistis Protopsalti Independent 28 August 2015 – 23 September 2015
3.
Ministry of National Defence		 Minister of National Defence Air Chief Marshal Ioannis Giangos Independent 28 August 2015 – 23 September 2015
4.
Ministry of Culture, Education and Religious Affairs		 Minister of Culture, Education and Religious Affairs Frosso Kiaou Independent 28 August 2015 – 23 September 2015
Alternate Minister of Culture Marina Lambraki-Plaka Independent 28 August 2015 – 23 September 2015
5.
Ministry of Productive Reconstruction, Environment and Energy		 Minister of Productive Reconstruction, Environment and Energy Professor Ioannis Golias Independent 28 August 2015 – 23 September 2015
Alternate Minister of Environment and Energy Constantinos Mousouroulis New Democracy 28 August 2015 – 23 September 2015
Alternate Minister of Agricultural Development and Food Dimitrios Melas Independent 28 August 2015 – 23 September 2015
6.
Ministry of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights		 Minister of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights Dimitris Papangelopoulos Independent 28 August 2015 – 23 September 2015
7.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs		 Minister of Foreign Affairs Petros Molyviatis New Democracy 28 August 2015 – 23 September 2015
Alternate Minister of European Affairs Professor Spyridon Flogaitis Independent 28 August 2015 – 23 September 2015
8.
Ministry of Finance		 Minister of Finance Dr Giorgos Houliarakis Independent 28 August 2015 – 23 September 2015
Alternate Minister of Finance Tryfon Alexiadis SYRIZA 18 July 2015 – present
9.
Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity		 Minister of Labour and Social Solidarity Dimitris Moustakas Independent 28 August 2015 – 23 September 2015
10.
Ministry of Health and Social Security		 Minister of Health and Social Security Athanasios Dimopoulos Independent 28 August 2015 – 23 September 2015

Ministers of State
Rank Office Incumbent Party In office since
1. Minister of State Eleftherios Papageorgopoulos Independent 28 August 2015 – 23 September 2015
2. Minister of State for Combatting Corruption Panagiotis Nikoloudis Independent 27 January 2015 – 23 September 2015
Government Spokesperson Rodolfos Moronis Independent 28 August 2015 – 23 September 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: [5][6]

References
  1. "Greece's caretaker government sworn in with first female prime minister". Associated Press. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2016 – via The Guardian.
  2. Henley, Jon (20 August 2015). "Greek bailout: Alexis Tsipras steps down to trigger new elections". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  3. "Top judge Thanou becomes Greece's first female prime minister". Kathimerini. 27 August 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  4. "President signs election decree, caretaker cabinet meets". Kathimerini. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  5. "New caretaker PM, govt sworn in; election on Sept. 20". Protothema. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  6. "New Greek caretaker government sworn in". Sigma Live. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
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