STEFANOS KASSELAKIS is a Greek businessman, entrepreneur and politician, who is currently serving as the president of Syriza. Today is his birthday.

Kasselakis was born in Marousi in 1988. His family is originally from the village of Skines in Chania. He grew up in Ekali and attended Athens College. At the age of 14 he won the silver medal in the Archimedes math contest of the Greek Mathematical Association. He then received a scholarship to attend the Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, and he later graduated with a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania, and a B.Sc in finance from the Wharton School of the same institution. While he was a student he volunteered for Joe Biden’s campaign during the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries.

In 2009 he worked at the back-office “risk management department” of Goldman Sachs. He also worked at the think tank of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. and later founded Swift Bulk shipping company.

He was registered in the electoral rolls of New York as a Republican from 2013 until 2019.

In August 2023 Kasselakis declared his candidacy for president of Syriza. In the first round of party elections in September, he finished in first place among five candidates while securing 45% of the vote.

In September 2023 he was elected president of Syriza, winning the second round with 56% of the vote over his opponent, Effie Achtsioglou, who received 44%. After winning the leadership election, Kasselakis said that he wanted Syriza to emulate the U.S. Democratic Party and move to the center-left.

Kasselakis is gay and has been in a civil partnership with Tyler McBeth, an American, since 2019. Together they have spoken on Greek TV channel Alpha about their relationship and the challenges that LGBT people face in Greece. Kasselakis lived in Miami until early 2023. They were married in a civil ceremony on October 19, at the City Clerk’s Office, Brooklyn. This legal union was only recently recognized a little over one month ago on February 16, 2024 when Greece legalized marriage equality.