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Profile: Greece PM Alexis Tsipras Alexis Tsipras: PM who risked Greece's euro future
(14 days later)
Shortly after being elected prime minister of Greece, Alexis Tsipras received a silk tie from his Italian counterpart, Matteo Renzi.Shortly after being elected prime minister of Greece, Alexis Tsipras received a silk tie from his Italian counterpart, Matteo Renzi.
The leftist Greek leader, known for his informal attire, promised to wear the gift once his country's debt crisis had been resolved.The leftist Greek leader, known for his informal attire, promised to wear the gift once his country's debt crisis had been resolved.
Since then, months of gruelling negotiations have yet to deliver a lasting deal on the debt - or much of a change in his appearance. That tie is yet to appear around the neck of the youngest political leader in modern Greek history, who has forged an international reputation on challenging the EU policy of austerity.
In meetings with Greece's EU creditors, Mr Tsipras still dresses in the open-necked shirts that he wore on the campaign trail, when he promised to ease the austerity measures imposed as a condition of his country's international bailout. He was elected prime minister, aged 40, in January 2015 - six years after becoming the leader of Syriza, a group of radical left-wing parties. He was instrumental in transforming the coalition from an also-ran to a ruling party.
Critics of Mr Tsipras - including some of those creditors - say he has not tailored his campaign rhetoric to the reality of governing a deeply indebted nation.
His supporters, however, say he has remained a man of the people, placing their interests above creditors' demands.
Mr Tsipras is the youngest political leader in the history of modern Greece. He was elected prime minister, aged 40, in January 2015, six years after becoming the leader of Syriza, a group of radical left-wing parties.
At his swearing-in ceremony, Mr Tsipras broke with tradition by refusing to take a religious oath, saying it was against his atheist principles. After the election, he continued to zip around Athens on a motorbike, as he had done before.At his swearing-in ceremony, Mr Tsipras broke with tradition by refusing to take a religious oath, saying it was against his atheist principles. After the election, he continued to zip around Athens on a motorbike, as he had done before.
His first gesture as prime minister was a visit to a memorial for Greek resistance fighters executed in 1944 by the occupying army of Nazi Germany. His first gesture as prime minister was a visit to a monument honouring Greek communists executed by Nazi occupation forces in 1944.
The visit had strong political overtones, given that Germany is now a major player in the debt negotiations, while Greece has been demanding reparations for the Nazi occupation. For a man whose political life began as a communist, the visit was heavy with symbolism, also because Germany holds more Greek debt than any other eurozone state and Greece is still seeking reparations for the Nazi occupation.
As the negotiations have dragged on, Mr Tsipras and his colleagues have invoked Greece's history and its contribution to European culture. Month after month, he has defied international creditors and tested the patience of his European partners.
"We are carrying our people's dignity as well as the aspirations of all Europeans," Mr Tsipras said in June 2015, as a deadlock in the talks revived fears of a Greek exit from the eurozone. But his most controversial act as prime minister came late on 26 June, when Greek negotiators were locked in talks with their European partners.
"We cannot ignore this responsibility. It is not a matter of ideological stubbornness. It has to do with democracy." Summoning them out of the room by text message, Mr Tsipras announced he was calling a referendum on a deal that was not even on the table. In a late-night TV address, he spoke of the bailout as "unbearable" and a "humiliation".
Many EU officials disagree. They accuse Mr Tsipras and his colleagues of reckless and irresponsible conduct - from unprofessionalism in meetings to disinformation in the media. It came out of the blue and was viewed either as a reckless gamble or a masterstroke, casting into doubt Greece's future in the euro.
An article in Bloomberg notes that until they met Mr Tsipras, most European leaders had never had to confront the ideas of the old European left at government level. Cash support for Greek banks was frozen, and the government imposed capital controls, shutting the banks and limiting cash withdrawals.
Mr Tsipras's origins are indeed on the fringes of mainstream politics, at a distinct remove from the large parties and dynasties that have traditionally governed Greece. Opponents questioned whether he had ever really wanted to stay in the eurozone, and EU leaders were infuriated by his decision.
He took to national television three times to press Greeks to vote against bailout austerity.
But when Greeks surprised the pollsters and backed their prime minister's stance, he told them their mandate was not "rupture with Europe" but a mandate for a viable solution.
Alexis Tsipras's political origins are far removed from the large parties and dynasties that have traditionally governed Greece.
He was born in Athens, three days after the fall of the Greek military junta in 1974 - a time of deep political division.He was born in Athens, three days after the fall of the Greek military junta in 1974 - a time of deep political division.
However, the Tsipras family was not regarded as especially political. Sport may have been a stronger draw for the young Alexis, who grew up near Panathinaikos football club's stadium, and remains a fan of the team.However, the Tsipras family was not regarded as especially political. Sport may have been a stronger draw for the young Alexis, who grew up near Panathinaikos football club's stadium, and remains a fan of the team.
His political activism began at high school, when he led a student protest against the right-wing government's education policy. Alexis Tsipras was not schooled at the usual private schools that most politicians in Greece with a pedigree prefer, but graduated from a state school in Ampelokipoi, a middle-class area in central Athens.
In a 2012 profile broadcast on BBC Radio Four, Matthew Tsimitakis, an activist who was then a pupil at another Athens school, remembers meeting the young leader. It was where his political activism began, leading a student protest against the right-wing government's education policy.
Matthew Tsimitakis, an activist who was then a pupil at another Athens school, described meeting the young leader, in a 2012 profile broadcast on BBC Radio.
"He struck me as very intelligent, calm, passionate but also very aware - he could represent the balance of a few hundred thousand kids who weren't very sure of what they were demonstrating about.""He struck me as very intelligent, calm, passionate but also very aware - he could represent the balance of a few hundred thousand kids who weren't very sure of what they were demonstrating about."
At the time, many young Greek students were getting involved in politics - but Mr Tsipras stood out, says Mr Tsimitakis. It was at school that he met Peristera "Betty" Baziana, who was to become his wife. They were both active in the Communist Party of Greece's youth wing and shared the same world view.
"He was very well informed about what was going on in the educational system... he would negotiate with the minister and I think he was the only one who could deal with the press." They went to university in different cities and later chose a civil wedding instead of a traditional religious ceremony.
Mr Tsipras went on to study civil engineering in Athens, and to a more active role in student politics. The couple now live in the middle-class Athens neighbourhood of Kypseli, and have two young sons - Pavlos and Orpheas Ernesto (after Ernesto "Che" Guevara).
In 2001, he reportedly travelled to a G8 summit in Genoa, now remembered for violent clashes between anti-globalisation protesters and police. Although Ms Baziana has rarely appeared in public, she reputedly threatened to leave him if he gave too much ground to Greece's international creditors.
In 2006, Mr Tsipras represented Syriza in the Athens mayoral election. "He toured around neighbourhoods in Athens, and tried to have close contact with potential voters," says Elpida Ziouva, a civil servant for the Athens assembly who was interviewed for the BBC profile in 2012. Like his father, Mr Tsipras's career began in civil engineering but in 2006, he represented Syriza in the Athens mayoral election.
"It reminded voters of the old times when people knew politicians by their first name and they used to answer direct questions." "He toured around neighbourhoods in Athens, and tried to have close contact with potential voters," Elpida Ziouva, a civil servant for the Athens assembly, told the BBC.
A few years later, Mr Tsipras was elected leader of Syriza and eventually, of Greece. What was not clear from his early political career was how far he was prepared to go to rid his country of austerity, by closing the banks and bringing Greece to the verge of exit from the eurozone.
Mr Tsipras lives with his partner, Betty Baziana, an engineer. The couple have two sons, the younger one named Ernesto, after Mr Tsipras's hero: Ernesto "Che" Guevara.