Magistrate Ekaterini Sakellaropoulou, 63, is likely to be elected president of the Hellenic Republic on Wednesday, and to become the first woman in the history of Greece to access this essentially honorary position. The current president of the Council of State, fervent defender of the environment, should be elected in the first ballot, on the proposal of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, by at least 260 deputies out of 300, unheard of for the presidential election Greek.
Ekaterini Sakellaropoulou is the candidate for "unity" and "progress" thus presented by the head of the Conservative government, who skillfully chose her for this position because it transcends traditional partisan divisions. No sooner did her name appear on January 15 during a solemn television address by Kyriakos Mitsotakis than the candidate immediately made consensus in a society, however singularly patriarchal, at the bottom of the European peloton in terms of parity.
Progressive values
"The time has come for Greece to open up to the future," argued the Conservative Prime Minister. He had been criticized upon taking office by appointing only two women ministers in his government. "Let us not hide behind our little finger, Greek society is still marked by discrimination against women," he said. But "it changes now, starting at the top".
In a country where one in five women is unemployed, Ekaterini Sakellaropoulou had already opened a breach by becoming the first woman to head the country's highest court in October 2018, on the proposal of the then Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras. “She has always vigorously served justice, the protection of individual rights and the religious neutrality of the state. Her election will reward the progressive values that she defended as a judge, "welcomed the leader of the left opposition, who voted for this vote behind his right rival.
Feminist
A graduate of constitutional law and environmental law in Athens and Paris-Sorbonne, this judge and daughter of a judge of the Supreme Court defended the rights of refugees, minorities and civil liberties. But above all, it has distinguished itself in environmental protection matters, while taking care to preserve investment in a Greece hit by a decade of crisis. She has also been criticized for defending a controversial investment project by a Canadian mining company in the north of the country.
Without political affiliation, this feminist, divorced and mother of a child, will easily pass from the highest functions of justice to those of the State. Endowed with essentially symbolic functions, the Head of State and of the armed forces has, according to the Hellenic Constitution, the power to declare war, but only under the supervision of the government.
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