Kyriakos Mitsotakis facts for kids

Quick facts for kids His Excellency Kyriakos Mitsotakis
Κυριάκος Μητσοτάκης
Mitsotakis in 2024
Prime Minister of Greece
Incumbent
Assumed office 26 June 2023
President	Katerina Sakellaropoulou
Preceded by	Ioannis Sarmas
In office 8 July 2019 – 24 May 2023
President	Prokopis Pavlopoulos Katerina Sakellaropoulou
Deputy	Panagiotis Pikrammenos
Preceded by	Alexis Tsipras
Succeeded by	Ioannis Sarmas
Leader of the Opposition
In office 10 January 2016 – 8 July 2019
Prime Minister	Alexis Tsipras
Preceded by	Ioannis Plakiotakis
Succeeded by	Alexis Tsipras
President of New Democracy
Incumbent
Assumed office 10 January 2016
Vice President	Adonis Georgiadis Kostis Hatzidakis
Preceded by	Ioannis Plakiotakis
Minister of Administrative Reform and Electronic Governance
In office 25 June 2013 – 27 January 2015
Prime Minister	Antonis Samaras
Preceded by	Antonis Manitakis
Succeeded by	Nikos Voutsis
Member of the Hellenic Parliament
Incumbent
Assumed office 7 March 2004
Constituency	Thessaloniki A (2023–present) Athens B2 (2019–2023) Athens B (2004–2019)
Personal details
Born	(1968-03-04) 4 March 1968 (age 57) Athens, Greece
Political party	New Democracy
Spouse	Mareva Grabowski ​ (m. 1997)​
Children	3
Parents	Konstantinos Mitsotakis (father) Marika Giannoukou (mother)
Relatives	Dora Bakoyannis (sister) Eleftherios Venizelos (great-great-uncle)
Education	Athens College
Alma mater	Harvard University (BA, MBA) Stanford University (MA)
Awards	Thomas T. Hoopes Prize (1990) Alexis de Tocqueville Prize (1990)
Signature

Kyriakos Mitsotakis (born 4 March 1968) is a Greek politician. He has been the prime minister of Greece since July 2019. He also leads the New Democracy political party, a role he took on in 2016. His political ideas are generally considered centre-right, focusing on economic freedom.

Before becoming prime minister, Mitsotakis was the Leader of the Opposition from 2016 to 2019. He also served as Minister of Administrative Reform from 2013 to 2015. His father, Konstantinos Mitsotakis, was also a Prime Minister of Greece from 1990 to 1993. Kyriakos Mitsotakis was first elected to the Hellenic Parliament in 2004. After his party lost two elections in 2015, he became its leader in January 2016. Three years later, he led his party to win the 2019 Greek legislative election.

After the May 2023 Greek legislative election, no party won enough votes to form a government. Mitsotakis then called for a new election in June. On 24 May 2023, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, the Greek president, appointed Ioannis Sarmas as a temporary prime minister. In the June 2023 Greek legislative election, Mitsotakis's party won again. He was then sworn in as prime minister once more.

During his time as Prime Minister, Mitsotakis has been praised for his pro-European approach and for making government services more modern and digital. He has also been recognized for managing Greece's economy well. For example, The Economist magazine named Greece the Top Economic Performer in 2022. This was partly because Greece paid back some of its loans early. He has also been praised for supporting LGBT rights in Greece, including legalizing same-sex adoption and same-sex marriage in Greece. However, he has also faced criticism for some of his policies and for how his government handled certain events, like the 2022 wiretapping scandal and the Tempi Train crash.

Early Life and Education

Kyriakos Mitsotakis was born in Athens, Greece, on 4 March 1968. His mother was Marika Giannoukou, and his father was Konstantinos Mitsotakis, a former Greek prime minister. When he was born, his family was under house arrest because of the military government in Greece.

In 1968, when he was six months old, his family escaped to Turkey. They later moved to Paris and returned to Greece in 1973.

Mitsotakis finished high school at Athens College in 1986. He then studied at Harvard University from 1986 to 1990, earning a bachelor's degree. He also received the Hoopes Prize. Later, he studied at Stanford University from 1992 to 1993 and at Harvard Business School from 1993 to 1995, where he earned an MBA.

Professional Career

After college, Kyriakos Mitsotakis worked as a financial analyst at Chase Bank in London from 1990 to 1991. He then returned to Greece for his mandatory military service from 1991 to 1992.

From 1995 to 1997, he worked for McKinsey & Company, a consulting firm in London. He focused on telecommunications and financial services. Later, he worked for Alpha Ventures, a private equity company, from 1997 to 1999. In 1999, he started NBG Venture Capital, a part of the National Bank of Greece, and was its CEO until 2003.

In 2003, the World Economic Forum named him a "global leader of tomorrow."

Political Career

Mitsotakis became involved in politics during the 2000 Greek legislative election, working for the New Democracy party's campaign. In the 2004 Greek legislative election, he was elected to the Hellenic Parliament for the Athens B area. He received many votes, showing strong support.

He is also an honorary president of the Konstantinos K. Mitsotakis Foundation. This foundation works to share information about his father's life and work and about Greece's modern political history.

On 24 June 2013, Mitsotakis was appointed Minister of Administrative Reform and e-Governance. He held this position until January 2015. In this role, he worked on making government services more efficient and modern. He supported reducing the size of the Public Sector and changing the tax system.

In 2015, Mitsotakis was a parliamentary representative for New Democracy. He spoke for his party in Parliament and helped ensure the government worked properly.

Mitsotakis with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan in 2016

Mitsotakis was one of the first to announce he would run for leader of the New Democracy party in 2015. Many people saw him as an "outsider" in the race. In the first round of voting, he came in second.

Mitsotakis with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, 2017

On 10 January 2016, Mitsotakis was elected president of the New Democracy party. He won by a small margin. After he became leader, opinion polls showed his party ahead of the Syriza party for the first time in a year.

His party won 33% of the votes in the European elections in 2019. This helped them gain support from voters who had previously supported other parties. After these results, new elections were called for the Greek Parliament.

Prime Minister of Greece

First Term (2019–2023)

Mitsotakis and Mareva Grabowski-Mitsotakis with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House, January 2020

Mitsotakis with President of Israel Isaac Herzog, December 2021

Mitsotakis with Prime Minister of North Macedonia Dimitar Kovačevski, February 2022

New Democracy won the 2019 Greek legislative election, getting 39.85% of the votes. This gave them 158 seats in the Hellenic Parliament.

On 8 July 2019, Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos asked Mitsotakis to form a new government. Mitsotakis was sworn in as prime minister the same day. His government ministers were sworn in on 9 July.

His government began to privatize some state-owned assets, like tourism facilities and shares in energy companies. They also introduced tax reforms to attract more investments to Greece. A new law was passed in 2020 that changed rules about strikes and collective agreements.

Mitsotakis's government received praise for how it handled the COVID-19 pandemic in Greece. They put in place measures from March to May 2020 and again from November 2020 to May 2021. These measures included limiting movement and closing businesses and schools. Mitsotakis also proposed the common COVID-19 certificate, which was adopted by the European Union.

Mitsotakis with U.S. President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House, May 2022

There is a long-standing disagreement between Turkey and Greece over natural resources in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Mitsotakis stated that Turkey was using "force and threats." He told NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that NATO should support Greece when another NATO ally acts in a way that harms Greece's interests.

In July 2020, Mitsotakis gave honorary Greek citizenship to American actor Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson.

On 16 May 2022, Mitsotakis met with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House. The next day, he became the first Greek Prime Minister to speak to a Joint session of the United States Congress.

During this term, Greece was named the Top Economic Performer for 2022 by The Economist. This was partly because Greece paid back €2.7 billion of its loans early. However, Mitsotakis also faced criticism regarding some issues during his term.

2023 Elections and Caretaker Government

Mitsotakis asked the Greek President to dissolve Parliament on 22 April 2023. He said it was important for Greece to have political stability. The election day was set for 21 May.

New Democracy won the most votes but did not get a clear majority. Since no party could form a government, Mitsotakis called for another election in June. On 24 May, Ioannis Sarmas was appointed as a temporary prime minister until the next election.

In the June 2023 Greek legislative election, Mitsotakis's party won a majority of seats. He was then sworn in as prime minister again.

Second Term (2023–Present)

Mitsotakis with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Athens, 20 February 2023

In July 2023, Mitsotakis announced his plan to legalize same-sex marriage in Greece. This law was later proposed in 2024, along with allowing same-sex couples to adopt children. This was seen as a very progressive move. However, it faced strong opposition from some groups within his party and the Greek Orthodox church.

His government also proposed laws to allow private universities in Greece. This plan faced criticism because some argued it might go against the Greek constitution. There were widespread protests against these changes.

On 6 March 2024, while Mitsotakis was visiting Ukraine to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky, a Russian missile exploded nearby. Five people were killed in the incident.

In the 2024 European Parliament election, his party's support dropped. This led to other parties suggesting they might form a united opposition against him in the next Greek election.

Personal Life

Mitsotakis is the younger brother of Dora Bakoyannis, who was a former Minister for Foreign Affairs and Mayor of Athens. This makes him the brother-in-law of the late Pavlos Bakoyannis and the uncle of Kostas Bakoyannis, who was also a Mayor of Athens.

Mitsotakis is married to Mareva Grabowska, who works as an investment banker. They have three children: Sophia, Konstantinos, and Daphne.

Besides Greek, Mitsotakis also speaks English, French, and some German.

Venizelos/Mitsotakis Family Tree

See also

• List of international trips made by Kyriakos Mitsotakis

Images for kids

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  Kyriakos Mitsotakis's signature