Aleka Papariga

Infobox Politician
name = Aleka Papariga

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office = General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece
term_start = 1991
term_end =
predecessor = Grigoris Farakos
successor =
constituency =
majority =
birth_date = Birth date and age|1945|11|5|mf=y
birth_place =
death_date =
death_place =
party = Communist Party of Greece
relations =
spouse =
civil partner =
children =
residence = Athens, Greece
occupation = Politician, activist


website =
footnotes =

Alexandra "Aleka" Papariga ( _el. Αλέκα Παπαρήγα) (born November 5, 1945) is a communist Greek politician who has served the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) as its General Secretary since 1991. She is the first woman to head the party. [http://www.parliament.gr/english/synthesh/mp.asp?MPID=491 CV at Hellenic Parliament website] .]

Early years

Papariga was born in Athens in 1945. Her parents were National Resistance fighters and members of KKE.

She graduated from the Historical-Archeological Section of the Philosophy Faculty of Athens University and after graduation worked as an employee for eight years in various accounting offices. At the same time she worked as a private tutor. Since 1976 she has worked exclusively in party and social activities.

Political career

Papariga started out as an activist in the peace movement in 1961 and soon after joined the pupils' organization of the youth section of the United Democratic Left(EDA). She was active in various school and student movements until the military coup in 1967. Throughout this period, she was a member of the Bureau of the EDA youth section pupils' organization and then of the "Lambrakis" Democratic Youth Students’ organization Bureau.

Dictatorship

She joined the KKE in 1968 during the dictatorship and was active in the political prisoners' families' movement.

Modern republic

After the end of the dictatorship, she became a member of the Bureau of the City Committee of the Athens Party Organization (KOA), and was also active in the women's movement. A founding member of the Women's Federation of Greece, she participated in the organization of national events for International Women's Day. She was a leading member of the women's movement until to 1981, and then active in the Athens Party Organization up to 1991. During her activities in the women's movement, she participated in international congresses of the Women's International Democratic Federation, the United Nations, and many international conferences and symposia.

Papariga has been a member of the Central Committee of KKE since the 10th Congress (May 1978) and of the Politburo of the CC since 1986. On February 27, 1991 at the 13th Party Congress, she was elected as Secretary-General of the KKE. She was unanimously re-elected as Secretary-General on May 26, 1996, at the 15th Party Congress.

As a KKE candidate in Athens B constituency, Papariga has been elected to the Hellenic Parliament since the 1993 election.

Other information

She is the author of two books on women's emancipation. She is a widow (her husband died in a car accident) and has one daughter.

References