Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Greece, Ms. Vassiliki Thanou temporarily left this position to be sworn in as the interim prime minister of Greece on August 27. She is also the first female prime minister in Greece.

New Prime MinisterGreece, Ms. Vassiliki Thanou was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court - Photo: Reuters

Ms Thanou is currently working hard to form a government to put it into operation today, August 28, before Greece holds an early election next month, which could take place between September 20 and 27, according to the BBC.

In the first statement from the prime minister's office, Ms Thanou said that although she was only running the government temporarily, she "believed that this government would also have to deal with important issues". She mentioned the issue of immigration in Greece as one of the "important issues", according to AP.

Ms Thanou, 65, was appointed by President Procopis Pavlopoulos as interim prime minister after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras resigned last week and Greece's largest parties failed to form a replacement government in time.

Mr Tsipras resigned in the hope of forming a stronger coalition government after the election, which would give him a stronger hand in steering the country through tough austerity demands from creditors in exchange for a third bailout package for the Greek economy worth up to $86 billion. He resigned just seven months into what was supposed to be a four-year term.

Previously, Mr. Tsipras faced fierce opposition from many people because of his measures to tighten spending and cut social benefits. Even within his own Syriza party, there was a lot of opposition when he agreed to cut salaries and raise taxes as demanded by creditors.

During his election campaign, Mr. Tsipras opposed austerity measures, but changed his policy soon after taking office to receive huge bailout packages, helping Greece escape the risk of bankruptcy and stay in the eurozone.

However, analysts say that Mr. Tsipras's party still has the best chance of winning the upcoming election, but it is unclear whether he will have enough votes to form a government on his own. Given the sharp divisions between the parties, forming a coalition government will not be easy for Tsipras.

According to TNO