Cabinet Name: | Cabinet of George Papandreou |
Jurisdiction: | Greece |
Flag: | Flag of Greece.svg |
Government Head: | George Papandreou |
Deputy Government Head: | Theodoros Pangalos (until 17/06/11) Evangelos Venizelos (from 17/06/11) |
State Head: | Karolos Papoulias |
Political Parties: | Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) |
Opposition Parties: | New Democracy Communist Party of Greece (KKE) Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS) Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) |
Opposition Leader: | Kostas Karamanlis (until 30/11/09) Antonis Samaras (from 30/11/09) |
Election: | 2009 Greek legislative election |
Legislature Term: | 13th (2009–2012) |
Previous: | Kostas Karamanlis II cabinet |
Successor: | Lucas Papademos cabinet |
Following the 4 October 2009 general elections in Greece, George Papandreou, the leader of PASOK, formed a government, which was sworn in on 7 October.[1] A major cabinet reshuffle was made in September 2010. The cabinet was succeeded by the Lucas Papademos's Coalition Cabinet.
The cabinet has 36 members, 14 ministers and 22 deputy ministers, a reduction in the size of government as promised by the PA.SO.K. leader during his campaign for the country’s parliamentary elections. Twenty-four of the new members of the government had no previous ministerial experience. Nine of the members were women, a very large proportion by Greek standards, while five of them were named to head ministries among the 14 portfolios.[2] Papandreou appointed himself foreign minister, a portfolio he held in a previous Pasok government.[3]
The new cabinet features less ministries than usual in the past (four less than the previous cabinet),[2] and significant changes in several of them:
Prime Minister Papandreou's second cabinet was sworn in on 7 September 2010,[4] after a major cabinet reshuffle with 48 cabinet members comprising the new government, of which seven members were alternate ministers – up from two in the previous Cabinet – and 24 deputy ministers. The majority of Cabinet members are M.P.s from the ruling PA.SO.K. party. The Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Islands and Fisheries - essentially the re-established Merchant Marine ministry - was established.
Prime Minister George A. Papandreou announced a Cabinet reshuffle on 15 June 2011 amidst the worsening Greek debt crisis and mounting protests.[5] The new cabinet was announced and sworn in on 17 June. It features 41 members, seven down from the 2010 cabinet, and a new ministry, that of Administrative Reform, split off from the Interior Ministry.[6] The Ministry for Maritime Affairs, Islands and Fisheries, established in 2010, was dissolved and merged with the Ministry for Regional Development and Competitiveness.
The new cabinet received a vote of confidence on 21 June 2011, with 155 (51.7%) votes in favour (all from PA.SO.K. members), 143 (47.7%) against, and two (0.7%) abstentions.[7]
Prime Minister George A. Papandreou also announced the formation of a Government Committee (Κυβερνητική Επιτροπή) composed of leading ministers:[6]