Alekos Alavanos (born 22 May 1950) is a Greek politician, member of the Hellenic Parliament

Hellenic Parliament

The Hellenic Parliament , also the Parliament of the Hellenes, is the Parliament of Greece, located in the Parliament House , overlooking Syntagma Square in Athens, Greece....

, former member of the European Parliament

European Parliament

The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

. From 2004 until 2008 he was president of the Coalition of the Left of Movements and Ecology, commonly known as Synaspismos. He is parliamentary leader of the wider Coalition of the Radical Left

Coalition of the Radical Left

The Coalition of the Radical Left , commonly known by its Greek abbreviation ΣΥΡΙΖΑ , is a coalition of left political parties in Greece...

, often abbreviated to SYRIZA.

Born on 22 May 1950 in Athens

Athens

Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

, Alavanos has been politically active since his youth. During the military dictatorship of 1967-1974, Alavanos participated in the student movement against the regime; as a result his military service deferment was revoked and he was briefly incarcerated

Prison

A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...

 in the EAT/ESA military prison. He was elected to the European Parliament

European Parliament

The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

 in 1981 with the Communist Party of Greece

Communist Party of Greece

Founded in 1918, the Communist Party of Greece , better known by its acronym, ΚΚΕ , is the oldest party on the Greek political scene.- Foundation :...

 and again in 1989, 1994 and 1999 with Synaspismos.

In the 2004 Greek legislative election

Greek legislative election, 2004

Legislative elections were held in Greece on March 7, 2004. At stake were 300 seats in the Greek Parliament, the Vouli . The New Democracy Party of Kostas Karamanlis won a decisive victory in the elections, ending eleven years of rule by the Panhellenic Socialist Movement .PASOK was led into the...

, Alavanos was elected MP in Athens. Since Nikos Konstantopoulos

Nikos Konstantopoulos

Nikos Konstantopoulos is a Greek politician, member of the Hellenic Parliament and former president of the left-wing Synaspismos.Born in 1942 in the village of Krestena, near Olympia, Konstantopoulos studied law in the University of Athens...

, his predecessor in Synaspismos' leadership, announced his intention not to be a candidate for another term, Alavanos announced his own candidacy for the office. The party congress elected him president on 12 December 2004.

In the 2007 Greek legislative election, running as leader of SYRIZA, which more than doubled its parliamentary seats, he was narrowly elected an MP in Heraklion, Crete.

In 27 November 2007, Alavanos announced that he would not apply for a renewal of his presidency of Synaspismos at its 5th party congress in February 2008, due to private reasons. He was replaced by Alexis Tsipras

Alexis Tsipras

Alexis Tsipras is a Greek left wing politician, member of the Hellenic parliament, president of the Synaspismos political party and head of SYRIZA parliamentary group.-Early life and career:Tsipras was born July 28, 1974, in Athens....

.

Alekos Alavanos is an economist

Economist

An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...

. He is married to Aikaterini Haralambaki and is the father of two daughters. The scion of a wealthy, landed family of Venetian

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

 descent, he owns considerable real estate on the island of Tenos.

External links

• Alekos Alavanos, his official site in Greek
• Short biography in Greek
• Curriculum vitae on the Hellenic Parliament website, also in Greek