Greece elects former parliament speaker as new president

Greece's parliament elected its former speaker, Constantine Tassoulas, as the country's president on Wednesday, approving the conservative government's nominee for the largely ceremonial role, Reuters reports. 

Tassoulas, 66, a lawyer and father of two who has been a lawmaker since 2000 and has previously served as Greece's culture minister and deputy defence minister, won the backing of 160 lawmakers in Wednesday's vote in the 300-seat parliament.

He will succeed Katerina Sakellaropoulou, Greece's first female president, whose five-year term expires in March.