2015

Events

January

• January 3: Escaped convicted November 17 member, Christodoulos Xiros, is apprehended by police in Anavyssos.
• January 3: George Papandreou launches his new political party, the Movement of Democratic Socialists.
• January 5: The Athens Stock Exchange closes at 789.20 - a loss of 5.6% - amid rumours of a future Greek exit from the Eurozone.
• January 6: Michel resigns his position as head coach of Olympiakos FC.
• January 9: Cyprus Airways ceases operations after the EU rules they cannot receive any further state aid.
• January 13: The elder Paisios is canonised a saint by the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
• January 25: The radical left-wing Syriza party of Alexis Tsipras wins the parliamentary elections with 36.34% of the vote, gaining 149 seats in the Hellenic Parliament.
• January 26: Alexis Tsipras' Syriza party reaches a deal with the conservative Independent Greeks of Panos Kammenos to form an anti-bailout coalition. Tsipras straightaway receives a mandate to form a government from President Karolos Papoulias and breaks tradition by taking a civil oath without the presence of Archbishop Ieronymos II.
• January 26: The official results of the parliamentary election are announced. SYRIZA: 36.34%, 149 seats; New Democracy: 27.81%, 76 seats; Golden Dawn: 6.28%, 17 seats; Potami: 6.05%, 17 seats; KKE: 5.47%, 15 seats; ANEL: 4.75%, 13 seats; PASOK: 4.68%, 13 seats
• January 26: A Greek F-16 fighter jet crashes at Los Llanos base in Albacete, Spain, during a NATO exercise. Both pilots are killed along with eight others.
• January 28: An earthquake, measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale, strikes south of Crete.
• January 28: The Athens Stock Exchange General Index posts losses of 9.24%.

February

• February 2: PM Alexis Tsipras pays an official state visit to Cyprus where he meets President Nikos Anastasiades.
• February 3: The Athens Stock Market rallies as the General Index gains 11.27% to close at 840.57.
• February 5: "We did not even agree to disagree", says Yanis Varoufakis after a meeting with German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, contradicting his host. Varoufakis received no support from Wolfgang Schaeuble in the newly elected government's plan to win debt relief and end austerity policies.
• February 6: SYRIZA MP Zoi Konstantopoulou is elected President of the Parliament, after receiving the record number of 235 votes.
• February 12: Sergio Markarian is named head coach of the National Football Team of Greece.
• February 15: About 15,000 people gather in central Athens to support the newly elected government's push for a better deal on Greece's debt.
• February 17: Alexis Tsipras nominates Prokopis Pavlopoulos for the Greek presidency.
• February 18: Prokopis Pavlopoulos is elected President of the Hellenic Republic gathering 233 votes in the first ballot.
• February 20: Nikoletta Kyriakopoulou breaks the Greek indoor record for the pole vault, with 4.76m, in Stockholm, Sweden.
• February 20: Eurozone finance ministers reach an agreement to extend Greece's financial rescue by four months, provided they approve reform proposals to be submitted by Greece with a deadline of February 23.
• February 24: Eurozone finance ministers approve reform proposals submitted by Greece in order to gain an extension of its bailout.
• February 24: Cyprus President Nikos Anastasiades starts a four-day official state visit to Russia.

Deaths

January

• January 9: Roy Tarpley, basketball player.
• January 24: Demis Roussos, singer.

February

• February 18: Andreas Garyfallos, water polo player.