Who is Ekaterini Sakellaropoulou, the likely first female President of Greece?

Sakellaropoulou was promoted to head of the Council of State in October of 2018, proposed by the then ruling SYRIZA administration of that time

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced in a televised address on Wednesday evening that Ekaterini Sakellaropoulou, the first female president of the Council of State, will be his party’s candidate for the post of the President of the Hellenic Republic, the nation’s highest position.

The choice for the country’s highest office “honors both justice and the modern Greek woman,” Sakellaropoulou said after the Mitsotakis announcement, thanking the Prime Minister for the candidacy.

“I accept the proposal and, if elected, I will devote all my efforts to serving this high duty, as set out by the constitution,” the jurist said, adding that she will abstain from active legal duties as of now.

Sakellaropoulou was born in Thessaloniki in 1956 and completed her studies at the University of Athens Law School in 1978.

She also completed her legal training during a leave of absence from her Council of State (Greece’s Supreme Court) duties at the Sorbonne, Paris II University between 1989 and 1990.

Read more: greek reporter