Costas Caramanlis (in Greek Konstantinos Karamanlis or Κονσταντινος Καραμανλις) (born September 14 1956), is the leader of the main Greek opposition party, New Democracy, and will become Prime Minister of Greece if his party wins the March 7 2004 elections.
Caramanlis, a nephew of the former president of the republic Constantine Caramanlis, was born in Athens and studied at Athens University's Law School and at the private Deree college, continuing with postgraduate studies in the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in the United States, where he gained a masters degree and a doctorate in political sciences, international relations and diplomatic history.
Caramanlis has been a New Democracy deputy for Thessaloniki since 1989. He was elected party leader in 1997 following New Democracy's defeat in the 1996 election. He narrowly failed to defeat the ruling Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) at the 2000 elections.
Karamanlis is married to Natasa Pazaïti since 1998 and they have two children (a boy and a girl who are twins), born in 2003.