--- title: Greece's Prime Minister Plans to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage description: Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis plans to legalize same-sex marriage. canonical: https://time.com/6292128/greece-same-sex-marriage/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2023-07-05T10:58:16.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T16:06:38.978Z article:section: World og:title: Greece's Prime Minister Plans to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage og:description: It's a huge step forward for LGBTQ rights in a region where some conservative governments are cracking down on the community. og:url: https://time.com/6292128/greece-same-sex-marriage/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9d83bcc4cf79ab91/698a3e5a011682813a983349/GettyImages-1258603449.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Athens Pride Parade 2023 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Greece's Prime Minister Plans to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage twitter:description: It's a huge step forward for LGBTQ rights in a region where some conservative governments are cracking down on the community. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9d83bcc4cf79ab91/698a3e5a011682813a983349/GettyImages-1258603449.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Greece's Prime Minister Plans to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage ## Video: Pride, Against All Odds: Michael Woods [Watch (HLS stream): Pride, Against All Odds: Michael Woods](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/uMoEL5Sq.m3u8) (3:38)  _Published 2023-06-22. In April 2023, teachers in Florida were barred from talking about sexual orientation and gender in all public schools._ by [Paul Tugwell and Sotiris Nikas / Bloomberg](/author/bloomberg/) ## Paul Tugwell and Sotiris Nikas / Bloomberg Jul 5, 2023 10:58 AM CUT  Participants wave a giant rainbow flag in front of the Greek Parliament during the Pride Parade in Athens, Greece on June 10, 2023. Participants wave a giant rainbow flag in front of the Greek Parliament during the Pride Parade in Athens, Greece on June 10, 2023.Nicolas Koutsokostas—NurPhoto/Getty Images by [Paul Tugwell and Sotiris Nikas / Bloomberg](/author/bloomberg/) ## Paul Tugwell and Sotiris Nikas / Bloomberg Jul 5, 2023 10:58 AM CUT Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis plans to legalize same-sex marriage, a huge step forward for LGBTQ rights in a region where some conservative governments are cracking down on the community. “Same-sex marriage will happen at some point and it’s part of our strategy,” Mitsotakis, a center-right politician, said Tuesday in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Athens. “Greek society is much more ready and mature.” **Read More:** [_Pride, Against All Odds_](https://time.com/6289106/pride-month-2023/ "undefined") Like the majority of countries in the European Union, Greece currently recognizes same-sex unions in some form but stops shy of supporting full marriage. For its part, Greece saw a jump in a [2023 ranking of LGBTQ rights](https://www.ilga-europe.org/report/rainbow-europe-2023/ "undefined") among European countries by [ILGAEurope](https://www.ilga-europe.org/ "undefined") after the government banned genital mutilation on intersex children last year. --- ### More from TIME --- **Read More:** [_Meet the First Same-Sex Couple to Get Married in Northern Ireland_](https://time.com/5779191/first-same-sex-marriage-northern-ireland/ "undefined") The Brussels-based non-governmental umbrella organization benchmarks 49 countries on their legal and policy situation for LBGTI people, from 0% to 100%. With a ranking of 57% in the latest report, up five percentage points compared to the previous year, Greece has overtaken countries such as the U.K. and Germany. **Read More:** [_Courts in Japan Support Same-Sex Marriage, But Lawmakers Are Reluctant to Legalize It. Here’s Why_](https://time.com/6286070/japan-same-sex-marriage-ruling-unconstitutional/ "undefined") LGBTQ rights around the world have come under the spotlight once again in recent months. In Uganda lawmakers passed a bill earlier this year [outlawing homosexuality](https://time.com/6265593/uganda-parliament-gay-lgbtq-law/ "undefined"), with punishments as tough as the death penalty. In the U.S. meanwhile, Republican presidential candidate Ron De Santis was [accused of](https://apnews.com/article/desantis-trump-lgbtq-transgender-homophobia-republicans-campaign-d6ec4cd13c8859ea7fbc352706373952 "undefined") posting a homophobic video to mark the end of Pride month. In Europe, the LGBTQ community faced increasingly targeted attacks in 2022. **Read More:** [_The Supreme Court Just Made Same-Sex Marriage More Vulnerable to a Challenge_](https://time.com/6291641/supreme-court-same-sex-marriage-vulnerable/ "undefined") Momentum for change began in Greece in 2021 when Mitsotakis appointed a committee to draft a national strategy for improving LGBTQ rights. He has introduced a number of reforms since then including lifting a ban on homosexual men making blood donations and ending the practice of so-called sex normalizing surgeries on children. Few had expected him to become such a powerful force for change. **Read More:** [_Southeast Asia’s Most Gay-Friendly Country Still Has No Law Against LGBT Discrimination_](https://time.com/6290762/philippines-pride-lgbt-discrimination-sogie-equality-bill/ "undefined") Same-sex civil partnerships were legally recognized in Greece in 2015 and gender identity in 2017, but progress on other issues had been piecemeal until Mitsotakis came to power in 2019. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6292128/greece-same-sex-marriage/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6292128/greece-same-sex-marriage/"},"headline":"Greece's Prime Minister Plans to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage","datePublished":"2023-07-05T10:58:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T16:06:38.978Z","description":"It's a huge step forward for LGBTQ rights in a region where some conservative governments are cracking down on the community.","url":"https://time.com/6292128/greece-same-sex-marriage/","keywords":["Greece","LGBTQ","identity","wire","bloomberg wire"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9d83bcc4cf79ab91/698a3e5a011682813a983349/GettyImages-1258603449.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Paul Tugwell and Sotiris Nikas / Bloomberg"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9d83bcc4cf79ab91/698a3e5a011682813a983349/GettyImages-1258603449.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Athens Pride Parade 2023","caption":"Athens Pride Parade 2023","creditText":"Nicolas Koutsokostas—NurPhoto/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/greece/","name":"Greece"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6292128/greece-same-sex-marriage/","name":"Greece's Prime Minister Plans to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Pride, Against All Odds: Michael Woods","description":"In April 2023, teachers in Florida were barred from talking about sexual orientation and gender in all public schools.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/uMoEL5Sq/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2023-06-22T10:00:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/uMoEL5Sq.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/6292128/greece-same-sex-marriage/","duration":"PT3M38S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/6292128/greece-same-sex-marriage/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```