Papariga, Alexandra (1945–)

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Papariga, Alexandra (1945–)

Greek politician. Name variations: Aleka Papariga. Born in Athens, Greece, 1945; studied history and archaeology at University of Athens; married; children: 1 daughter.

The first woman to be elected secretary general of the Communist Party of Greece, trained as an archaeologist but was barred from pursuing a teaching post in archaeology during the right-wing military dictatorship (1967–74); became active in Communist Party of Greece (KKE, 1968); founded Women's Federation of Greece (OGE) and participated in various international women's fora, including the UN; was elected a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (1978) and advanced to executive branch as a member of the KKE Political Bureau (1986); with support of orthodox wing, was elected secretary general (1991); was elected to Parliament for 2nd electoral district of Athens (1993) and reelected (1996).