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.
Contents
1Organization
2Duties
3List of prefectures
4List of landlocked prefectures
5List of prefectures consisting solely of islands or parts of islands
6List of primarily mainland prefectures that also include islands
7List of exclaves
8List of prefectures bordering foreign countries
9List of prefectures whose territorial sea abuts that of a foreign country
10List of geographically extremal prefectures
11List of prefectures that share a name with their capital
12List of prefectures whose capital is not their largest city
13List of prefectures with the less populous capitals
14List of prefectures with the most populous capitals
15List of largest cities that are not prefecture capitals
16List of prefectures that border a single other prefecture
17List of prefectures that border the most (seven, 7) other prefectures
18List of prefectures that are part of the Greek state since independence
19See also
20External link
21Notes
Organization
The current "Prefectural Self-Governments" were formed in 1994[1] and replaced the previous prefectures, whose the councils and the prefects were appointed by the government.
Prefectures are governed by a Prefectural Council (νομαρχιακό συμβούλιο) made up of 21 to 37 members,[2] led by the Prefect (νομάρχης) and presided by a Council President (πρόεδρος).
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 (περιφερειάρχης).[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]
Southernmost prefecture: Chania (island of Gavdos)
Prefecture with the longest distance between two of its points ("longest diameter"): Dodecanese
(draw a line from Anidros, an islet NW of Patmos, to the islet of Stroggyli, the easternmost place in Greece, just east of Kastellorizo)
Prefecture with the shortest distance between two of its points ("shortest diameter"): Lefkas
List of prefectures that share a name with their capital
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 appelation.
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.
^ Articles 13 and 14 of the "Code of Prefectural Self-Government" (Presidential Decree 30/1996)
^ Article 15 of the Code of Prefectural Self-Government
^ According to the legislative reform of 2006 (Law 3463/2006). See also the circular 12 of the Ministry of Interior Affairs about the upcoming local elections.
^ Article 102 of the Constitution
^ Articles 1 and 8 of the Code of Prefectural Self-Government
^ About the meaning of local affairs see the Decision 888/1997 of the Council of State.
^ Articles 3 and 8 of the Code of Prefectural Self-Government
^ See the Decision 3441/1998 of the Council of State.
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