Alexis Tsipras, born on July 28, 1974, is a prominent Greek politician of the left who served as the Prime Minister of Greece from 2015 to 2019.
As a socialist, Tsipras has been the leader of the Greek political party Syriza since 2008, a position he held until 2023. He is the fourth prime minister to govern Greece during the 2010s government-debt crisis.
Initially, Tsipras was a vocal critic of the austerity policies implemented during the crisis, but his tenure in office was marked by a significant shift towards austerity measures, primarily in the context of the third EU bailout to Greece from 2015 to 2018.
In January 2015, Tsipras led Syriza to a landslide victory in a snap legislative election, winning 149 out of 300 seats in the Hellenic Parliament and forming a coalition with the Independent Greeks.
However, seven months into his term as prime minister, Tsipras lost his majority in the parliament due to intraparty defections, announced his resignation, and called for a snap election to take place the following month.
In the September 2015 election that followed, Tsipras led Syriza to another victory, winning 145 out of 300 seats and re-forming the coalition with the Independent Greeks.
During his time as prime minister, Tsipras has been involved in numerous high-profile negotiations, including those regarding the Greek government-debt crisis, initiated the Greek bailout referendum, responded to the European migrant crisis, and signed the Prespa agreement.
In recognition of his global influence, Tsipras was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by TIME magazine in 2015.
