Katerina Sakellaropoulou has become Greece's first female president

High court judge Katerina Sakellaropoulou has been elected as Greece's first female president with an overwhelming majority in a parliamentary vote.

Katerina Sakellaropoulou, has been elected Greece’s president. Source: ANA-MPA Pool

Top judge Katerina Sakellaropoulou has become Greece's first female president when lawmakers elected her head of state in a rare display of unity.

Ms Sakellaropoulou, 64, has been president of the Council of State, Greece's top administrative court.

She will succeed Prokopis Pavlopoulos, whose five-year term expires in March.

Katerina Sakellaropoulou shakes hands with the Spokesman of the Greek Parliament Konstantinos Tasoulas. Source: ANA-MPA Pool

In an unusual demonstration of harmony in the fractious world of Greek politics, the conservative party nominee was backed by opposition parties, including the leftist Syriza party which lost power in an election last July.

She was backed by 261 MPs in the 300-member parliament.

Ms Sakellaropoulou, from the northern city of Thessaloniki, became the first female head of the Council of State in 2018, supported for that position by the then leftist government.

A divorcee who lives in central Athens and is active on social media, Ms Sakellaropoulou has written numerous papers on environmental protection and chairs a society on environmental law.

Katerina Sakellaropoulou has become the first female Greek president. Source: ANA-MPA

For decades, failure by parliament to elect a president in Greece could lead to a snap election.

Following a recent reform, the process to select a president can go up to five voting rounds in parliament with the threshold starting at 200 votes and gradually falling to the majority of those present in the room.