Kostas Karamanlis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kostas Karamanlis
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| Κώστας Καραμανλής | |
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Karamanlis in 2009
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| Prime Minister of Greece | |
| In office 10 March 2004 – 6 October 2009 |
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| President | Konstantinos Stephanopoulos Karolos Papoulias |
| Preceded by | Costas Simitis |
| Succeeded by | George Papandreou |
| Minister for Culture | |
| In office 10 March 2004 – 15 February 2006 |
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| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Evangelos Venizelos |
| Succeeded by | Georgios Voulgarakis |
| President of New Democracy | |
| In office 21 March 1997 – 30 November 2009 |
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| Preceded by | Miltiadis Evert |
| Succeeded by | Antonis Samaras |
| Leader of the Opposition | |
| In office 6 October 2009 – 30 November 2009 |
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| President | Karolos Papoulias |
| Prime Minister | George Papandreou |
| Preceded by | George Papandreou |
| Succeeded by | Antonis Samaras |
| In office 21 March 1997 – 10 March 2004 |
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| President | Konstantinos Stephanopoulos |
| Prime Minister | Costas Simitis |
| Preceded by | Miltiadis Evert |
| Succeeded by | George Papandreou |
| Member of the Hellenic Parliament | |
| In office 18 June 1989 – 22 April 2023 |
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| Constituency | Thessaloniki A |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Konstantinos Karamanlis
14 September 1956 Athens, Greece |
| Political party | New Democracy |
| Spouse |
Natasa Pazaïti
(m. 1998) |
| Relations | Konstantinos Karamanlis (uncle) Kostas Karamanlis (cousin) |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence | Thessaloniki |
| Alma mater | University of Athens Tufts University |
Konstantinos A. Karamanlis (born 14 September 1956), often called Kostas Karamanlis, is a retired Greek politician. He was the Prime Minister of Greece from 2004 to 2009.
Karamanlis was also the leader of the New Democracy political party from 1997 to 2009. This party was founded by his uncle, Konstantinos Karamanlis, who was also a famous Greek leader. Kostas Karamanlis was a member of the Hellenic Parliament, which is Greece's main law-making body, from 1989 until he retired from politics in 2023.
He first became party leader in 1997. After a close election loss in 2000, he won the 2004 election with a record number of votes. He won again in 2007. In 2009, as Greece faced a major financial crisis, he called for a new election but lost. He then stepped down as the leader of his party but continued to serve in parliament.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Kostas Karamanlis was born in Athens, Greece. His uncle, Konstantinos Karamanlis, was a former President and Prime Minister of Greece. This meant Kostas grew up in a very political family.
He studied law at the University of Athens Law School. He then went to the United States for more studies at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. There, he earned a master's degree and a doctorate in political science and international relations.
From a young age, Karamanlis was involved in the New Democracy party. He also wrote a book about a famous Greek politician named Eleftherios Venizelos.
Political Career
Karamanlis was first elected to the Greek Parliament in 1989, representing the city of Thessaloniki. In 1997, he became the leader of the New Democracy party. He was the first Greek Prime Minister to be born after World War II.
In 1998, he married Natasa Pazaïti. They have twin children, a boy and a girl, who were born in 2003.
Becoming Prime Minister
In the 2004 election, Karamanlis's New Democracy party defeated the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), which had been in power for many years. Karamanlis became the new Prime Minister of Greece.
His government focused on several key areas:
- Improving education
- Strengthening the economy
- Helping farmers
- Lowering unemployment, which was high at the time
- Making the government work more efficiently
To help the economy, his government lowered taxes and made it easier for companies to invest and grow. One of his biggest challenges was the country's large public debt (money the government owed). His government worked to lower the amount of money it was overspending each year.
The 2004 Athens Olympics
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A major event during Karamanlis's first year as prime minister was the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. When he took office, many of the Olympic buildings were not finished. There was a rush to get everything ready in time.
The main Olympic Stadium was completed just two months before the games began. In the end, everything was finished on time. The Athens Olympics were seen as a huge success around the world. However, the rush to finish everything cost a lot of money, which added to the country's financial problems.
Checking the Country's Finances
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Soon after taking office in 2004, Karamanlis's government ordered a financial audit. This was like a deep check-up on the country's money. The audit found that the previous government had not reported Greece's economic numbers correctly. This was a serious issue because these numbers were used when Greece joined the Eurozone (the group of countries using the euro currency).
The previous government disagreed with these findings. But the audit revealed that Greece's financial situation was worse than people thought.
Social and Education Policies
Karamanlis's government also made changes to social policies. For example, it made changes to the retirement age for some workers.
His government also worked to improve internet access across Greece. It started a large project to bring fast broadband internet to towns and cities outside of the main centers.
In education, Karamanlis wanted to allow private, non-profit universities to operate in Greece. This was a big change because, for many years, only state-owned universities were allowed. The idea was to give students more choices and to stop so many young Greeks from leaving the country to study abroad. However, these plans faced strong opposition from other political parties and many students and professors.
Re-election and Later Years
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In the 2007 election, Karamanlis was re-elected as prime minister, but with a smaller majority in parliament. This happened after large forest fires had caused major damage in parts of Greece. He promised to continue his government's work of reform.
By 2009, Greece was facing a serious financial crisis. Karamanlis's government had a very slim majority in parliament, making it hard to pass the tough laws needed to handle the crisis. He called for a new election in October 2009, but his party lost.
After the election, Karamanlis stepped down as leader of the New Democracy party. He remained a member of parliament until he announced his retirement from politics in 2023.
See also
In Spanish: Kóstas Karamanlís para niños
- Cabinet of Greece
