1. Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou teaches civil law at the National School of Judges of Greece and has been, since 2012, the president of the Greek Association of Judges and Prosecutors.
13 Facts About Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou
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Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou was born in Chalcis and studied law at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens before completing post-graduate studies in European law at Pantheon-Assas University.
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Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou first entered the judiciary in 1975, and became the president of the Court of First Instance in 1992.
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Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou became an appellate judge in 1996 and subsequently president of the Appeals Court in 2005.
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Since 2009, Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou has taught civil law at the National School of Judges in Greece.
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Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou is the president of the Greek Association of Judges and Prosecutors, having first been elected in 2012 for a two-year term, and re-elected for the same period of time in 2014.
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Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou's appointment came at the recommendation of Nikos Paraskevopoulos, the Minister of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights.
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Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou therefore became the 42nd president of the Court of Cassation since 1835, and the second-ever female president after Rena Asimakopoulou.
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Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou became Greece's first ever female prime minister, and the 184th since 1822.
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One of the main issues that Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou had to face as prime minister was the European migrant crisis.
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Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou attended the swearing-in of the new Greek parliament on 3 October 2015 alongside other dignitaries.
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Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou made the decision after the prosecutor in question, Georgia Tsatani, accused her of having too close ties to Dimitris Papangelopoulos, an Alternate Minister in the justice ministry.
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Vassiliki Thanou-Christophilou said she was stepping down to "protect the standing and trust" of the judiciary and her role, and instead the investigation was to be headed by Aspasia Karellou, the deputy president of the Court of Cassation.