Timeline: Modern Greece Political History

Apr 27, 1941

Nazi occupation of Athens

Mar 5, 1943

Massive demonstration against Nazi Compulsory Work Service

Dec 3, 1944

Beginning of the December events

Police fires on demonstrators. Battle of Athens between pro-communist resistance forces and government supported by British troops Dmitry Kessel, photo, Getty archives

Period: Mar 30, 1946 to Oct 16, 1949

Greek Civil War

Greek Civil War - defeat of the communist Republican army

Dec 27, 1947

KKE (communist party of Greece) outlawed

Period: Nov 8, 1963 to Feb 16, 1964

Union of the Centre 2-step arrival to power and subsequent collapse

From minority government following November 8 elections to absolute majority government in February 1964;

Period: Apr 21, 1967 to Jul 24, 1974

Military dictatorship

Feb 15, 1968

Scission of KKE in Bucarest

Following the isntauration of the dictatorship and as a prelude to the global 1968 , the KKE meeting at Bucarest turns into a fght betweent the "internal" faction (those members coming from Greece) and the "external" (those members outlawed and in exile in the Soviet block). The former leave the party and create the KKE "internal" closer to the Italian Communist party.

Jul 24, 1974

Return of Caramanlis- 3rd Republic

Jan 1, 1981

EEC entry

Oct 18, 1981

PASOK accedes to government

on a progrmmatic platform including the exit from NATO and the EEC (a platform that will never be implemented).

Jun 18, 1989

Creation of Synaspismos

First appearance of the Colaition of the Left, the Movemenst and Ecology in the Greek legislative elections (for the first time since 1968 all the Greek Left including the KKE is united)

Period: Jun 18, 1989 to Apr 8, 1990

The electoral instability year

3 elections in less than a year: One summer ND-Synaspismos government instituted on a limited agenda of "national reconciiation" and cleaning up the PASOK financial scandals; 1 winter national union government - 1 ND government with 150 + 1 MPs following the spring 1990 elections

Feb 2, 1991

ΚΚΕ leaves Synaspismos

Aleka Papariga elected secretary general -First female party leader in Greece

Oct 13, 1993

Fall of Mitsotakis ND government

due to A. Samaras who creates new party and asks ND MPs to defect. One of them does thus contribtuing to MItsotkis losing the majority in Parliament. PASOK wins the snap elections.

Mar 7, 2004

ΣΥΡΙΖΑ creation

ND government in power after 11 years
Syriza polls third

Sep 16, 2007

ND wins snap elections

Oct 4, 2009

PASOK wins snap elections

May 8, 2010

First MOA bailout agreement

Nov 6, 2010

Papandreou Gvt collapse -Papadimos Caretaker gvt

October 31 -announcement of referendum on the bailout agreement
November 3 Cannes G-20 Meeting : Papandreou is told that
November 4: Parliament grants vote of confidence to Papandreou
November 6: announcement of interim national union government between ND and PASOK
November 11: Papandreou resigns
Caretaker Government LAOS-ND-PASOK

May 6, 2012

Elections - Coalition Gvt

Beginning of political recomposition
May 6 electoral shock: Collapse of the two traditional powerhouse sof PASOK and ND - Rise of SYRIZA and neo-nazi Golden Dawn
June 17 : repeat elections - ND wins
Coalition gvt ND-PASOK-DIMAR