Leftwing Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is set to mark one year in office Monday, still dogged by the country's chronic debt crisis.
Here are key dates since Greek voters first placed their destiny in his hands.
- Tsipras takes over -
- January 25, 2015: The anti-austerity Syriza party led by Tsipras wins a general election with 36.3 percent of the vote and a pledge to renegotiate the terms of Greece's international bailout. A quarter of the workforce is unemployed at the time.
- February 20: Greece and eurozone creditors agree to extend existing bailout until June 30, with Athens to propose new budget discipline measures.
- Taking the eurozone by surprise -
- June 27: Tsipras catches eurozone finance ministers by surprise by calling a July 5 referendum on the creditors' latest bailout proposals.
Three days later, Greece's bailout officially expires and Athens defaults on a 1.5-billion-euro ($1.6-billion) debt payment to the International Monetary Fund.
- July 5: Greek voters roundly reject the creditors' proposals, with 61.31 percent saying "No". The next day, firebrand finance minister Yanis Varoufakis steps down in what is widely seen as a bid to placate creditors.
- A bitter pill -
- July 13: Greece and its creditors agree to preliminary terms of the nation's third bailout deal in five years, but in return for harsher reforms than those rejected in the referendum.
- July 17: Tsipras names a new cabinet that excludes hardliners opposed to the bailout terms.
- August 14: Parliament approves the terms of an 86-billion-euro bailout, but more than a third of Syriza MPs rebel, forcing Tsipras to rely on the opposition for support.
- Tsipras quits -
- August 20: Tsipras quits and calls for new elections -- the country's fourth since 2012 -- to strengthen his position. His announcement comes as Athens receives an emergency payment from the EU's bailout fund, which allows Greece to repay a 3.4-billion-euro debt to the European Central Bank on time.
- Second chance -
- September 20: Syriza wins the poll with 35.53 percent of the vote and forms a second straight coalition with the nationalist Independent Greeks (ANEL) party to push through reforms demanded by the country's creditors. New measures, including tax hikes and pension reforms, are approved by Greek lawmakers on October 17.
- Strike! -
- November 12: Greek unions stage a general strike against fresh austerity cuts, the first under Tsipras. The action shuts down public services, hits ship and train transport and forces the cancellation of dozens of domestic flights.
- Deal -
- November 17: Greece reaches a deal with international creditors to unblock 12 billion euros in loans, Greek and EU officials say after marathon talks.
- Migrant flow under control -
- December 11: Tsipras says all migrants are now being properly documented, after admitting that Greek border controls were overwhelmed by the mass arrival of refugees earlier this year. The International Organization for Migration says more than 850,000 migrants reached Greek shores in 2015.
- IMF can stay, if it wishes -
- January 14, 2016: Following initial objections, Greece accepts that the International Monetary Fund will play a role in the latest bailout after initially arguing that the IMF's participation was not necessary, Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem says. Three days later, IMF chief Christine Lagarde says the Fund has not decided whether it will take part.
Leftwing Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is set to mark one year in office Monday, still dogged by the country’s chronic debt crisis.
Here are key dates since Greek voters first placed their destiny in his hands.
– Tsipras takes over –
– January 25, 2015: The anti-austerity Syriza party led by Tsipras wins a general election with 36.3 percent of the vote and a pledge to renegotiate the terms of Greece’s international bailout. A quarter of the workforce is unemployed at the time.
– February 20: Greece and eurozone creditors agree to extend existing bailout until June 30, with Athens to propose new budget discipline measures.
– Taking the eurozone by surprise –
– June 27: Tsipras catches eurozone finance ministers by surprise by calling a July 5 referendum on the creditors’ latest bailout proposals.
Three days later, Greece’s bailout officially expires and Athens defaults on a 1.5-billion-euro ($1.6-billion) debt payment to the International Monetary Fund.
– July 5: Greek voters roundly reject the creditors’ proposals, with 61.31 percent saying “No”. The next day, firebrand finance minister Yanis Varoufakis steps down in what is widely seen as a bid to placate creditors.
– A bitter pill –
– July 13: Greece and its creditors agree to preliminary terms of the nation’s third bailout deal in five years, but in return for harsher reforms than those rejected in the referendum.
– July 17: Tsipras names a new cabinet that excludes hardliners opposed to the bailout terms.
– August 14: Parliament approves the terms of an 86-billion-euro bailout, but more than a third of Syriza MPs rebel, forcing Tsipras to rely on the opposition for support.
– Tsipras quits –
– August 20: Tsipras quits and calls for new elections — the country’s fourth since 2012 — to strengthen his position. His announcement comes as Athens receives an emergency payment from the EU’s bailout fund, which allows Greece to repay a 3.4-billion-euro debt to the European Central Bank on time.
– Second chance –
– September 20: Syriza wins the poll with 35.53 percent of the vote and forms a second straight coalition with the nationalist Independent Greeks (ANEL) party to push through reforms demanded by the country’s creditors. New measures, including tax hikes and pension reforms, are approved by Greek lawmakers on October 17.
– Strike! –
– November 12: Greek unions stage a general strike against fresh austerity cuts, the first under Tsipras. The action shuts down public services, hits ship and train transport and forces the cancellation of dozens of domestic flights.
– Deal –
– November 17: Greece reaches a deal with international creditors to unblock 12 billion euros in loans, Greek and EU officials say after marathon talks.
– Migrant flow under control –
– December 11: Tsipras says all migrants are now being properly documented, after admitting that Greek border controls were overwhelmed by the mass arrival of refugees earlier this year. The International Organization for Migration says more than 850,000 migrants reached Greek shores in 2015.
– IMF can stay, if it wishes –
– January 14, 2016: Following initial objections, Greece accepts that the International Monetary Fund will play a role in the latest bailout after initially arguing that the IMF’s participation was not necessary, Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem says. Three days later, IMF chief Christine Lagarde says the Fund has not decided whether it will take part.
