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What is the difference between the Greek president and prime minister?

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greggd12

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I'm not super well versed in politics, so I don't know much about the differences between a Prime Minister and a president. How did Greece come to have both? I'm much more used to the American political system where we only have a president. Do all countries with a premature minister also have a president? I appreciate your comments and explanations! Thanks so much everyone.
 
I'm by no means a political expert but I do live in a country with a similar political system. In Australia, we have a "head of state" who is called the Governor General (equivalent to Greece's President) and our Prime Minister is basically a leader of one of the political parties. The GG tends to be more politically independent and in Australia (just like the President in Greece) they are nominated by the Prime MInister and agreed to by a 2/3 vote in parliament - they are not voted in by the people. The people vote in the Prime Minister and consequently they have much more power to make day to day decisions about the country. The GG in Australia and the President in Greece have much more of a ceremonial role. The reason why Australia does not yet have a President is because we are still a "British colony" therefore the Governor General is the Queen's representative in Australia. Greece was lucky to get rid of its Monarchy system a long time ago so their head of state is the President.

If you are comparing to America, in simple terms, the Prime Minister is equivalent to the President in that they are voted in by the public and they have the power to make decisions for the country.

I hope I haven't confused you even more!
 
The president, is head of state and the prime minister is head of government.
The president is elected for a five-year term by the Hellenic Parliament in a special session at least a month before the incumbent's term expires. The president is elected by the parliament, it can take up to 5 rounds in order to get sufficient majority .
 
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