Alekos Alavanos

Alekos (Alexandros) Alavanos (Greek: Αλέκος Αλαβάνος) is a Greek politician, member of the Hellenic Parliament, former member of the European Parliament. 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, often abbreviated to SYRIZA.

Born on May 22 1950 in Athens, 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1967-1974, Alavanos participated in the student movement against the regime; as a result his military service deferment was revoked and he was briefly incarcerated in the EAT/ESA military prison. He was elected to the European Parliament in 1981 with the Communist Party of Greece and again in 1989, 1994 and 1999 with Synaspismos.

In the 2004 Greek legislative election, Alavanos was elected MP in Athens. Since Nikos Konstantopoulos, 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 December 12, 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. [ [http://www.syn.gr/gr/keimeno.php?id=8163 Synaspismos press release] ] He was replaced by Alexis Tsipras.

Alekos Alavanos is an economist. He is married to Aikaterini Haralambaki and is the father of two daughters. The scion of a wealthy, landed Italian family, he owns considerable real estate on the island of Tenos.

ee also

* Politics of Greece

Notes

External links

* [http://www.syn.gr/alavanos/ Alekos Alavanos] , his official site in Greek
* [http://www.syn.gr/cv/alavanos.htm Short biography in Greek]
* [http://www.parliament.gr/synthesh/mp.asp?MPID=675 Curriculum vitae] on the Hellenic Parliament website, also in Greek