About Greece

Greece is a parliamentary republic. The Head of State is the President who is elected by Parliament every five years. The Head of Government is the Prime Minister. Parliament is unicameral and comprised of 300 deputies elected for 4 years.

Greece’s foreign policy shares many common objectives with Canada’s. For example, Greece is a member of the Human Security Networkand Foreign Minister Papandreou participated on the Advisory Board of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS), which is chaired by former Foreign Minister Axworthy.

The Greek Government's idea of an "Olympic Truce", an appeal for the laying down of all weapons for at least the duration of the Olympic Games and even following their closing. It is an integral part of the Athens 2004 Olympics and its origins date back to the 9th century BC when all conflicts ceased for a period of seven days prior, during and seven days following the ancient Olympic games to allow safe passage to all those attending. Canada fully supports the "Olympic Truce" initiative.

Canada strongly supports Greece's rapprochement with Turkey and we support all efforts to find a resolution to the longstanding Cyprus problem, in keeping with our history of peacekeeping on the island.

Greek and Turkish Foreign Ministers continue to meet regularly on an ad hoc basis and have put together a package of agreements to encourage greater cooperation. Canada strongly encourages both Greece and Turkey to continue along this very positive path.

Fact sheet on Greece

Useful Links