Alexis Tsipras Biography (SYRIZA party)

President of SYRIZA (Coalition of the Radical Left). Leader of the Opposition in Greece. Vice President of the European Left Party. Candidate President of the European Commission.

   Alexis Tsipras was born in 1974 in Athens. He received his civil engineering degree from the National Technical University of Athens, where he also completed postgraduate studies in Urban and Regional Planning. He worked as a civil engineer in the construction industry and conducted a series of studies regarding urban planning in Athens.

   He joined the Left while still in high school and actively participated in the pupils’ movement during '90-'91; he continued his commitment at university in the student movement.

   In 1999 he was elected Secretary of the Youth of Synaspismos, a position he maintained until March 2003. During the 4th Congress of Synaspismos (December 2004) he was elected to the Central Political Committee and also to the Political Secretariat of the Party, where he was responsible for Education and Youth policies.

   In October 2006 he was a Mayoral candidate for the city of Athens, representing the municipal movement "Open City", which came in third with a percentage of 10,5%.

   During the 5th Congress of Synaspismos (February 2008), he was elected President of the Party. In the national elections of 2009 he was elected Member of the Greek Parliament and became Chairman of the parliamentary group of SYRIZA.

   During the 3rd Congress of the European Left Party (December 2010) in Paris, he was elected Vice President. Since the general election of 2012 when he was re-elected as a Member of Parliament, he is Leader of the Main Opposition in Greece.

   During the 4th Congress of the European Left Party (December 2013), he was nominated as a candidate for the Presidency of the European Commission and was also re-elected Vice President of the European Left Party.