According to the Constitution of Greece the prefectures are mainly a second-degree organization of local self-government. They are not however hierarchically superior to the Communities and Municipalities of Greece. After the legislative reform of 1994 most of the administrative duties of the prefectures were transferred to the peripheries. Nevertheless, they still keep certain administrative duties attributed to them by the central government (sanitary committees, urban-planning services etc.) and they are thus also legally regarded as administrative units of the central government.
The first prefectural elections took place in 1994. The prefects were previously appointed by the government.
The current "Prefectural Self-Governments" were formed in 1994[1] and replaced the previous prefectures, whose councils and prefects were appointed by the government.
Prefectures are governed by a Prefectural Council (?????????? ?????????) made up of 21 to 37 members,[2] led by the Prefect (????????) and presided by a Council President (????????).
Other organs of the prefectures are:
The Prefectural Committee, consisted of the Prefect or an assistant appointed by him and 4 to 6 members, elected by the Prefectural Council.[3]
Super-prefectures have their own organs (Council, Committee and Super-prefect).
Prefectural councillors are elected via public election every four years. Three-fifths of all seats go to the combination winning a majority and two-fifths of the seats go to remaining parties based on a proportional system. Prefect becomes the president of the victorious electoral combination. Electoral is a combination which attains more than 42% in the first round of the prefectural elections. If no combination passes this threshold, a second round takes place between the two combinations that took the most votes in the first round[4]
Duties
The State ultimately oversees the actions of local governments, including the prefectures, but the Constitution of Greece[5] and the Code of Prefectural Self-Government[6] still provide communities and municipalities with legal control over the administration of their designated areas.
The Code of Prefectural Self-Government does not include a non-restrictive list of prefectural duties, but a general rule, according to which the newly formed Prefectural Self-Governments have all the duties of the previous prefectures, which are related to their local affairs.[7] Nonetheless, the affairs of "(central) state administration" belonging to the prefects before 1994 are now exerted by the Presidents of the Peripheries (??????????????).[8] The current Prefectural Self-Governments hve kept the "local affairs of prefectureal level" not belonging to the "(central) state administration".[9]
With certain laws specific affairs of certain ministries were transferred to the Prefectural Self-Governments (sanitary committees, urban-planning services etc.).[10]
List of prefectures with the most populous capitals
Athens (capital: Athens with a population of 745,514. Note: the Athens metropolitan complex transcends the boundaries of the Athens prefecture, and has a cumulative population of 3,7 million)
Thessaloniki (capital: Thessaloniki with a population of 363,987 ; metropolitan area population at approximately 809,457)
Piraeus (capital: Piraeus with a population of 175,697 ; part of the wider Athens metropolitan complex)
Achaea (capital: Patras with a population of 161,114)
Aetolia-Acarnania originally also included Evrytania. Unlike the rest mentioned above, the prefecture never broke up into two
prefectures, thus being the only one left with a composite appellation.
Messinia originally included the southern half of what is now Elis.
Laconia originally included the southern-eastern half of what is now Messinia.
Eboea originally included the islands of what is now Magnesia.
The territory of Phthiotis did not originally include the province of Domokos, which was part of Thessaly (under Ottoman rule until 1881). The area currently constituting the Domokos province of the prefecture of Fthiotis only became a part of the Greek state in general, and of Fthiotis in particular, after the annexation of Thessaly to Greece in 1881.
Arcadia and the Cyclades are the only prefectures to have their borders unchanged since independence.
The capital of Argolis, Nafplion was the first capital of the modern Greek state (1828-1834), before the moving of the capital to Athens by King Otto.
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