Aleka Papariga Bids Farewell To KKE After 22 years

After more than two decades at the helm of the Greek Communist Party (KKE), general secretary Aleka Papariga said  late on Saturday that she is not planning on running again for the post.

The KKE's central committee replaced Papariga with (unknown until now) Dimitris Koutsoumbas, and a feverish campaign has already started in the Greek press to promote him.

Born in 1955 in Lamia, central Greece, Koutsoumbas joined KKE's youth wing during the dictatorship when he was a student at Athens Law School, becoming a member of the party in 1974 and being elected to the party's central committee in 1987. He was appointed secretary of the party in 2009.

Heading the KKE for more than 22 years, Papariga was elected as general secretary in 1991, becoming the first and longest-serving female party leader in Greece.

The Greek Communist Party currently holds 12 seats in the 300-member Greek Parliament after receiving 4.5 percent of the vote in general elections in June 2012.