Greece supreme court head to lead interim government

Ms Thanou, 65, becomes Greece’s first female prime minister.

The head of Greece’s Supreme Court, Vassiliki Thanou, was named Thursday (Aug 27) as the country’s caretaker prime minister ahead of early elections, the president’s office said.

The left-wing party has been in turmoil since a deal was struck with European lenders for a bailout package which included harsh austerity measures.

He has indicated he might skip the party leader’s meeting, which would mean an announcement by Thursday night and the election date being set for September 20.

Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos has appointed the country’s new prime minister.

Greece has relied on funds from two bailouts by other European countries and the worldwide Monetary Fund totaling almost 240 billion euros ($270 billion) since 2010.

Pavlopoulos announced her appointment after parliament’s three largest parties failed to find willing coalition partners.

The second bailout expired earlier this year, and Tsipras insisted he could negotiate a better deal for his country.

He on Wednesday ruled out forming a national unity government should he fail to win a outright majority. This is not considered necessary taking into account the refusal of SYRIZA, ANEL and KKE leaders to participate in that meeting.