ATHENS, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Greek parliament elected on Wednesday top judge Katerina Sakellaropoulou president of the Hellenic Republic, making her the country's first female head of state.
Since 2018, she has been serving as president of the Council of State, Greece's highest administrative court.
A total of 261 members of parliament (MPs) voted in favor of Sakellaropoulou, who was the sole candidate, in the 300-member assembly. The vote was attended by 294 MPs, parliament President Constantine Tassoulas announced.
"I am fully aware of the weight I shoulder and the duty I assume. I assure the parliament and all Greeks, men and women, that I will fulfill my constitutional role with all my strength," Sakellaropoulou said when Tassoulas formally informed her about her election.
"In your person both justice and the modern Greek woman are honored," Tassoulas said.
A minimum 200 votes were required in the first round in order to elect a president, according to the Greek Constitution.
Sakellaropoulou, who was nominated last week by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, was supported by most MPs of the ruling conservative New Democracy party, as well as by the main opposition radical left SYRIZA and the center-left Kinima Allagis (Movement for Change).
The rest of the opposition MPs stated "present" during the roll-call vote, which was broadcast live.
Although the post of president in Greece is largely ceremonial, the persons chosen reflect the nation's unity, Mitsotakis noted announcing Sakellaropoulou's candidacy on Jan. 15.
"This is a great day for the Hellenic Republic ... The result demonstrates that in significant issues we can reach consensus. Greece is entering a new era," the Greek premier commented after the end of the voting procedure, according to a press statement released by his office.
Sakellaropoulou, 63, who was also the first female head of the Council of State, succeeds Prokopis Pavlopoulos, who assumed office in March 2015.
She is the eighth president of the Hellenic Republic since 1974, when democracy was restored after a military dictatorship, according to the Greek Presidency's website.
Sakellaropoulou is also the 13th president in the history of the Hellenic Republic and the first presidential candidate elected with the support of three parliamentary parties, the news agency AMNA noted.
On March 13, Sakellaropoulou will be sworn in before the assembly and assume her duties, according to press release issued by Tassoulas's office.
Pavlopoulos has contacted his successor and congratulated her during a phone call, a press announcement issued by the Presidency said.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was one of the first foreign officials to congratulate Sakellaropoulou on her election, AMNA reported.
"Greece is moving ahead into a new era of equality," she tweeted.
According to the Greek Constitution, the country's president is elected for a five-year term and can be re-elected only once.
To be eligible for the office of president, a person must have obtained Greek citizenship at least five years before the election; must be of Greek descent on the father's or mother's side; must be at least 40 years old; and must be legally entitled to vote.
