Dimitris Koutsoumpas

(Redirected from Dimitrios Koutsoumbas)

Dimitris Koutsoumpas (Greek: Δημήτρης Κουτσούμπας, pronounced [ðiˈmitris kuˈt͡sumbas]; born 10 August 1955) is a Greek communist politician and member of the Hellenic Parliament who has been the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) since 14 April 2013.[1]

Dimitris Koutsoumpas
Δημήτρης Κουτσούμπας
Koutsoumpas in 2023
18th General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece
Assumed office
14 April 2013
Preceded byAleka Papariga
4th Leader of the Communist Party Parliamentary Group
Assumed office
25 January 2015
Preceded byAleka Papariga
Member of the Hellenic Parliament
Assumed office
25 January 2015
ConstituencyAthens B
Personal details
Born (1955-08-10) 10 August 1955 (age 69)
Lamia, Kingdom of Greece
Political partyCommunist Party of Greece
Spouse
Anastasia Kontogianni
(m. 1993)
Children1
ResidenceAthens
Alma materNational and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Occupation
  • Politician
  • Lawyer

Early life and education

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Koutsoumpas was born on 10 August 1955 in Lamia, Greece. His family were militants in the Greek resistance as part of the National Liberation Front, and some of them were executed by the Nazi troops during the Axis occupation of Greece or by the military courts in the period of the Greek Civil War; the rest were imprisoned and exiled.[2] His father, Apostolis Koutsoumpas, a member of the KKE, was exiled for his political actions; he was arrested in 1945 in Larissa, tried, imprisoned, and exiled for eight years.[3] Koutsoumpas graduated from high school in June 1973, took the Apolytirion (Panhellenic entrance exam) and studied law. He entered the Law Department of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.[2]

Political career

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Koutsoumpas started his political career as a member of the Communist Youth of Greece, participating at the Athens Polytechnic uprising against the Regime of the Colonels in November 1973.[3] In 1987, Koutsoumpas was elected for the first time to the Central Committee of the KKE, to which he was reelected in the following years. In 1996, he was elected for the first time to the party's politburo.[3] In the same year, he became the director of Rizospastis, the official newspaper of the party, in which post he remained for the following decade. During his political career, he was also the head of the International Relations sector of the party. He was a candidate in the parliamentary elections of 2000 and 2007 for the Boeotia prefecture but was not elected.[4][5]

At the 19th Party Congress on 14 April 2013, Koutsoumpas was elected as the General Secretary of the party, succeeding Aleka Papariga. Since January 2015, he has been a member of the Hellenic Parliament. In October 2023, he emerged as the most popular political figure in the country for the first time according to a poll by Metron Analysis for Mega TV, with a 47% approval rating, ahead of the incumbent prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at 44%.[6]

Personal life

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Koutsoumpas is married to Anastasia Koutsoumpa and has a daughter.[7][8][9]

References

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  1. ^ Νέος γραμματέας του ΚΚΕ ο Δημήτρης Κουτσούμπας (in Greek). in.gr. 14 April 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Communist Party of Greece - Biographical details of the General Secretary of the CC of the KKE, Dimitris Koutsoumpas". inter.kke.gr. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Βιογραφικό Κουτσούμπα (in Greek). Kathimerini. 14 April 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
  4. ^ Εκλογές 2000 (in Greek). Rizospastis. 9 March 2000. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
  5. ^ Εκλογές 2007 (in Greek). Rizospastis. 26 August 2007. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
  6. ^ "Dimitris Koutsoumbas of KKE Surges as Most Popular Political Leader in Greece, New Poll Reveals". Greek City Times. 28 October 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  7. ^ "Δημήτρης Κουτσούμπας: Αυτή είναι η επί χρόνια σύζυγός του με την οποία έχει αποκτήσει μία κόρη". bestofyou (in Greek). 20 March 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  8. ^ Νούση, Αλίκη (1 April 2023). "Αυτή είναι η όμορφη κόρη και η σύζυγος του Δημήτρη Κουτσούμπα". Debater.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  9. ^ "Δείτε την γοητευτική σύζυγο του Δημήτρη Κουτσούμπα - Σάλος με την εμφάνιση τους στο κέντρο που τραγουδα η Μποφιλιου" (in Greek). 4 April 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
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Party political offices
Preceded by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece
Since 2013
Incumbent
Order of precedence
Preceded byas President of the PASOK – KINAL Order of precedence of Greece
General Secretary of the Communist Party
Succeeded byas President of the Greek Solution