Hellenic Parliament

The Hellenic Parliament, also the Parliament of the Hellenes, is the Parliament of Greece, located in the Parliament House (Old Royal Palace), overlooking Syntagma Square in Athens, Greece.

It is a unicameral legislature of 300 members, elected for a four-year term. During 1844-1863 and 1927-1935 the parliament was bicameral with an upper house, the Senate and a lower house, which retained the name Vouli. Several important Greek statesmen served as Speakers of the Hellenic Parliament. The List of Speakers of the Hellenic Parliament comprises all the Speakers from 1946 till today.

Although during the Greek Revolution a number of National Assemblies had been held, the first national parliament of the independent Greek state was established only in 1843, after the September 3rd Revolution, which forced King Otto to grant a constitution. In 1911, a revision of the constitution resulted in stronger human rights, the reinforcement of the Rule of Law and the modernization of institutions, among them the parliament. After seven years of military dictatorship, on 8 December 1974, a referendum was conducted to decide about the nature of the form of government. By a majority of 69.18%, the Greeks decided against a constitutional monarchy and for a parliamentary republic. As detailed in the following section, Members of Parliament are immune from criminal prosecution, arrest or detention while in office.