The informal shadow government unveiled on Tuesday by Alexis Tsipras made a strong first impression on public opinion, as the figures he chose to go up against the ruling government’s ministers are neither entirely new faces nor veterans. They are personalities who have each made their mark in their respective fields and stand out for their experience. It is worth noting that of the 50 officials staffing the various portfolios, 18 are women and 32 are men.
The six pillars on which Tsipras’ new project is built
Alexis Tsipras’ primary goal is for these officials to distinguish themselves in their confrontations with their government counterparts, as all signs point to elections being just around the corner. Given that the former prime minister is positioning himself as the main challenger to Kyriakos Mitsotakis, it appears these figures will take on the challenging task of winning over public opinion — with the clear message that they are the ministers of tomorrow.
Alexis Tsipras divided the portfolios into six pillars that the party’s officials will be called upon to serve:
1. Life with Dignity & a Strong Social State
2. Strong Democracy
3. Fair Development
4. Resilience in Times of Crisis
5. Digital Sovereignty
6. A Strong Greece — Foreign Affairs & Defence
The figures with a SYRIZA background
A key element of the story is that even those officials with ties to SYRIZA are people who left behind nothing but a positive legacy within the party. Labour portfolio chief Dionysis Teboneras, a labour law expert, departed from SYRIZA before the party’s serious internal problems began, while Public Administration chief Grigoris Theodorakis, who also served as deputy spokesperson, resigned the moment Alexis Tsipras began presenting his book Ithaca.
Deputy European Affairs chief Lali Zorzetta, who held the seventh position on Tsipras’ national party list, had previously refused to resign her seat when asked to do so by Stefanos Kasselakis so that he could enter parliament. Deputy Foreign Affairs chief Pausanias Papageorgiou steered the party’s communications portfolio through the very difficult period of Stefanos Kasselakis’ clashes with party officials, earning widespread praise for the diplomatic manner in which he handled the entire affair.
Migration Policy chief Zacharoula Tsirigoti stepped down as chair of the Ethics Committee several months ago, while Kostas Gavroglou — appointed coordinator of portfolio chiefs — left a significant legacy as Minister of Education in the SYRIZA government.
Which former PASOK figures are joining the new formation
Among the portfolio chiefs are also figures with a PASOK background, including Citizen Protection chief Marinos Skandamis, who left PASOK just days ago, and his deputy Antonis Saoulidis. Deputy Finance chief Giorgos Pappas, who resigned from the presidency of the Achaia Chamber of Commerce 20 days ago, also comes from that political tradition.
Fragiskos Koutentakis: The man taking charge of the party’s economic programme
As expected, the new shadow “tsar” of economic affairs is Fragiskos Koutentakis, assistant professor of Public Economics at the University of Crete and former coordinator of the State Budget Office at the Hellenic Parliament. He has a deep command of figures and numbers, and the fully costed economic programme that Alexis Tsipras will present will undoubtedly pass through his hands.
The choice of Christos Christodoulou for the Defence portfolio
The National Defence portfolio was taken up by retired Air Marshal Christos Christodoulou, who served as Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff from January 2019 for a period of one year. The Foreign Affairs portfolio went to Haris Tzimitras, Director of the Cyprus Centre and Research Institute for Peace, a professor of International Law and International Relations specialising in the resolution of international disputes and conflicts.
Who will face Adonis Georgiadis in the Health portfolio
Going up against Adonis Georgiadis will be Spyros Dritsas, a surgeon with advanced training in the British NHS, who currently serves as a surgical registrar at Evangelismos Hospital in the Organ Transplant Unit.
Maria Lepenioti takes on the Justice portfolio
Former senior judge Maria Lepenioti, who accompanied Alexis Tsipras to the Supreme Court when he filed the founding declaration of the new party, has taken on the Justice portfolio.
Dimitris Lyritsis on housing policy — Kostas Lagouvardos and Manolis Plionis on Energy and Climate Crisis
Experienced lawyer Dimitris Lyritsis, who has been dealing with non-performing loans since the years of the bailout memoranda, has taken on the Housing Policy portfolio, with Foteini Pagkalou as his deputy.
The well-known businessman Giannis Salpeas was appointed to the Shipping and Island Policy portfolio, while Giorgos Konstantinidis — a business executive with more than 25 years of experience in tourism, strategic investment and development, real estate, and business management — was appointed to the Tourism portfolio.
The Agricultural Development portfolio was taken up by livestock farmer Thomas Moschos, who left MERA25 after several years and played a leading role in the farmers’ mobilisations.
The Energy and Environment portfolio was assigned to Kostas Lagouvardos, Director of Research at the National Observatory of Athens, with Dimitris Tsekeris — a mechanical engineer from the National Technical University of Athens with a postgraduate specialisation in sustainable energy technologies from the Technical University of Denmark — serving as deputy energy chief.
Manolis Plionis, professor in the Department of Physics at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and former director and chairman of the board of the National Observatory of Athens (2017–2025), took on the Climate Crisis and Civil Protection portfolio, while Ioanna Laliotou heads the Education portfolio.
The full organisational chart of the new party team
The full list of portfolio chiefs is as follows:
Labour: Dionysis Teboneras — Nektaria-Eleftheria Angelaki (deputy)
Health: Spyros Dritsas — Giorgos Boulbassakos (deputy)
Education: Ioanna Laliotou — Panagiotis Kassianos (deputy)
Sports: Anastasis Zanias — Vasiliki Tsikli (deputy)
Culture: Haris Mavroudes — Eva Rentzou (deputy)
Social Policy / Child & Family: Marizeta Antonopoulou — Fani Kountouri (deputy)
Housing Policy: Dimitris Lyritsis — Foteini Pagkalou (deputy)
Justice / Institutions / Rights: Maria Lepenioti — Christina Tsagli (deputy)
Local Government: Giorgos Ioakimidis — Apostolos Kalogioannis (deputy)
Public Administration: Grigoris Theodorakis — Giorgos Spanoudakis (deputy)
Finance: Fragiskos Koutentakis — Giorgos Pappas (deputy)
Development / Trade & Entrepreneurship: Giorgos Petrakos — Argyris Benteniotes — Evangelos Poulios (deputies)
(Trade) Tourism: Giorgos Konstantinidis — Foteini Bakadima (deputy)
Shipping & Island Policy: Giannis Salpeas — Maria Kamma (Island Policy) (deputy)
Agricultural Development: Thomas Moschos — Spyros Kintzios (deputy)
Industrial Policy: Vasilis Maglaras (deputy)
Energy & Environment: Kostas Lagouvardos — Dimitris Tsekeris (Energy) — Penny Antoniou (deputy)
Infrastructure & Transport: Nikos Triantos — Dimitris Dimitriou (Transport) (deputy)
Climate Crisis & Civil Protection: Manolis Plionis — Vanessa Katsardi (deputy)
Migration Policy: Zacharoula Tsirigoti — Fani Giotaki (deputy)
Digital Policy: Grammati Pantziou — Dimitris Ntafopoulos (deputy)
Foreign Policy: Haris Tzimitras — Lali Zorzetta (European Affairs) — Pausanias Papageorgiou (deputies)
Defence: Christos Christodoulou — Katerina Berdou (deputy)
Citizen Protection: Marinos Skandamis — Antonis Saoulidis (deputy)
Portfolio Chiefs Coordinator: Kostas Gavroglou
Head of Political Planning: Evgenia Fotoniata
Director of Alexis Tsipras’ Political Office: Giorgos Vasileiadis
Director of Alexis Tsipras’ Legal Office: Gianna Peppe
President of INAT: Michalis Kalogirou
