Kostas Karamanlis

Konstantinos Karamanlis (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Καραμανλής) (born September 14, 1956), often shortened to Kostas (Κώστας), is a former Prime Minister of Greece and president of the right-conservative New Democracy party, founded by his uncle Konstantinos Karamanlis. He served as Prime Minister for two consecutive terms, winning the 7 March 2004 parliamentary elections and the 16 September 2007 parliamentary elections. However, he asked for mid-term ... more

Konstantinos Karamanlis (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Καραμανλής) (born September 14, 1956), often shortened to Kostas (Κώστας), is a former Prime Minister of Greece and president of the right-conservative New Democracy party, founded by his uncle Konstantinos Karamanlis. He served as Prime Minister for two consecutive terms, winning the 7 March 2004 parliamentary elections and the 16 September 2007 parliamentary elections. However, he asked for mid-term general elections to be held on 4 October 2009 because of the narrow (1 MP) majority his party enjoyed in Parliament. The economic crisis and its repercussions were also pointed out as the reason for anticipated elections. On 5 October 2009, Karamanlis conceded defeat in the Greek legislative election and resigned as Prime Minister after an election victory for the opposition PASOK. Kostas Karamanlis, a nephew of former Greek President Konstantinos Karamanlis, was born in Athens and studied at University of Athens Law School and at the private... less