Ioannis Sarmas to be appointed caretaker PM

Ioannis Sarmas, the president of the Court of Audit, will be appointed as the caretaker prime minister by President Katerina Sakellaropoulou after party leaders were unable to reach an agreement on forming a coalition government Wednesday.

Sarmas is expected to visit the Presidential Mansion at 1 p.m., where discussions will be held regarding the selection of interim ministers.

Later Wednesday, a presidential decree will be issued to officially appoint the caretaker government.

In order to expedite the necessary procedures, the parliament will be convened Sunday. Following that, the caretaker government will be sworn in, leading to the subsequent dissolution of the parliament.

Who is he?

Sarmas is the President of the Greek Court of Audit, which serves as the supreme financial court of Greece. He is also a member of the Supreme Special Court of Greece, the highest court for constitutional and judiciary conflicts resolution in the country.

Born on March 21, 1957, on the island of Kos, Sarmas obtained a Degree in Law from the University of Athens between 1975 and 1979. He pursued further studies at the University of Paris II, specializing in Criminal Law (1980-1981), Public Law (1982-1983), and Public Finance (1983-1985). He completed his Doctoral Thesis in Law from 1981 to 1985, which was awarded the distinction of très honorable.

During his national service, Sarmas served as an officer in the Greek Air Force from 1984 to 1986. Following that, he worked as a magistrate at the Greek Council of State from 1987 to 1993 and then as a magistrate at the Hellenic Court of Audit, where he continues to serve.

Sarmas has a strong background in academia as well. He taught Law Methodology and Public Finance at the Greek National School of Public Administration from 1989 to 1999. Additionally, he lectured on the Jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Communities and the European Court of Human Rights at the Greek National School for the Judiciary from 1997 to 2001.

As an author, Sarmas has published works in French and English. Notable among his French publications is “Liberté d’expression et diffamation: une étude de jurisprudence à partir des théories de la justice” (Freedom of expression and defamation: a study of jurisprudence on the basis of theories of justice) in 2011. In English, he published “The Greek Crisis and the Role of Audit” in 2012 and “The Fair Balance, Justice as an Equilibrium Setting Exercise” in 2015.