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Greek parliament elects first woman Speaker
The first woman Speaker of the Greek parliament, 63-year-old lawyer Anna Psarouda-Benaki, was elected unopposed, but almost half the male-dominated legislature cast blank ballots.
The first woman Speaker of the Greek parliament, 63-year-old lawyer Anna Psarouda-Benaki, was elected unopposed, but almost half the male-dominated legislature cast blank ballots.
Psarouda-Benaki, a member of the conservative New Democracy party which won the March 7 general election after nearly 11 years in opposition, described her appointment as "a vindication of the struggle of both men and women to achieve genuine equality of gender in our country."
She received the support of 163 of the 300 members of parliament. Others cast blank ballots.
A record 35 women won seats in the election, an increase of 10 on the previous parliament.
Just two out of the government's total 47 members are women, compared with three out of 49 in the previous socialist administration. No woman has ever ruled Greece.
But two conservative women, Athens' first-ever female mayor Dora Bakoyiannis and chief Olympics organiser Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, are expected to join the cabinet after the end of the Athens August Olympics.
