Greece’s first female Prime Minister (caretaker) sworn in

Who’s who: Vassiliki Thanou

Greek Supreme Court president Vassiliki Thanou is the first female prime minister of Greece, serving as a caretaker premier for what will be roughly a month in office.

She was sworn in on Thursday.

Thanou succeeded Athanasios Koutroumanos as Supreme Court chief justice after his retirement, when she was appointed to the post upon the recommendation of SYRIZA government Justice Minister Nikos Paraskevopoulos on July 1.

Before assuming the highest judiciary position of the country, she was Supreme Court Vice president as well as head of the Greek prosecutors’ association, a professional union. She became known for her judicial opinions against a property tax slapped onto power bills, challenging its constitutionality, while finally referring the issue to the Supreme Court plenum, where it was ruled as legal, counter to her legal opinion.

Thanou entered the judicial system in 1975 and was promoted to president of the misdemeanors courts in 1992, followed by appointment as an appeals judge 1996, and finally, as president of the appellate courts in 2005.

Thanou was elected as president of the Prosecutors’ and Judges’ Union from 2014 to 2106. She graduated from the Athens Law School before receiving her post-graduate degree in European justice from Sorbonne.