Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has proposed Nikita Kaklamanis as the new Speaker of Parliament, succeeding Konstantinos Tasoulas, who is a candidate for President of the Republic, as announced by government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis.

According to reports, the vote to elect the new Speaker of Parliament will be held next Wednesday, prior to the procedures for the election of the new President of the Republic.

In the meantime, Konstantinos Tasoulas informed the members of the Parliament’s Conference of Presidents on Thursday afternoon that he is resigning immediately from both the position of Speaker and as a Member of Parliament. The relevant resignation letter will be submitted later in the day.

Nikita Kaklamanis, who has served as Deputy Speaker of Parliament for several years and is considered a highly experienced MP, having first been elected in 1990, resolves an internal party issue for New Democracy. Kaklamanis is known for maintaining open communication with many MPs of the party who have expressed concerns recently, while also fostering consistent cross-party relations.

The biography of Nikita Kaklamanis
Nikita Kaklamanis was born on April 1, 1946, in Andros. He is a physician, specializing in radiology, and an Associate Professor.

He graduated from the Medical School of the University of Athens in 1971 and specialized in Radiation Therapy – Oncology. In 1981, he was awarded a Doctorate from the Medical School of the University of Athens, and in 1989, he was unanimously elected Associate Professor in Oncology – Radiation Therapy.

He was first elected as a Member of Parliament with New Democracy (ND) in 1990, serving as the party’s parliamentary representative. In the October 1993 elections, he was re-elected in the First Constituency of Athens, and in June 1994, he was elected as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) with the Political Spring party.

During his term in the European Parliament, he served as Vice-Chairman of the Transport and Tourism Committee and as a regular member of the Budget Committee. Additionally, he was a regular member of the mixed committees of the European Parliament with Turkey and Cyprus. During this time, he officially visited Turkey ten times, meeting with the country’s political leadership to promote solutions to long-standing issues faced by the Greek community in Istanbul.

In the 2000 elections, he was elected MP for Athens’ First Constituency with ND and subsequently took on the role of managing the party’s Health and Welfare sector. A year later, he was elected Coordinator of ND’s Social Affairs Committee.

In the 2004 elections, he was re-elected as MP for Athens’ First Constituency with ND, earning one of the highest levels of trust from his constituents.

On June 17, 2012, he was again elected MP for Athens’ First Constituency with ND. In the 2015 national elections on January 25, he was re-elected and on February 6, 2015, he was elected Fourth Deputy Speaker of Parliament with 247 votes. After the September 2015 elections, he was re-elected to the same position, receiving 267 votes from MPs.

In the July 7, 2019 elections, he was re-elected as MP for Athens’ First Constituency and on July 18, he was elected First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, receiving 290 votes, setting a record in parliamentary history.

From 1975 to 2008, he served at “Aretaieio” Hospital, where, since 1983, he was responsible for one of the two Radiation Therapy departments. He has a significant scientific and research record and is a member of numerous scientific associations.

From 1975 to 1989, he was actively involved in medical unionism, consistently being the top vote-getter in all physician union bodies. His crowning achievement in this field was his election in 1987, for a second time, as Secretary General of the Panhellenic Medical Association with an unprecedented 93% of the vote for the faction he represented.

In 1986, he was elected to New Democracy’s Central Committee, and in 1987, he became a member of the party’s Executive Committee. In March 2004, he was appointed Minister of Health and Social Solidarity, a position he held until February 2006.

In the regional and municipal elections of October 15, 2006, he was elected Mayor of Athens with the coalition “Athens, City of Our Life” and officially assumed office in January 2007, serving until January 2010. On May 15, 2007, he was elected President of the Central Union of Municipalities and Communities of Greece (KEDKE), a role he held until October 2011.