Euclid Tsakalotos sworn in as Greece's new finance minister

Greek President Prokopios Pavlopoulos and new Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos

(Image credit: Andreas Solaro/AFP/Getty Images)

last updated 6 July 2015

Euclid Tsakalotos was sworn in as Greece's finance minister on Monday, after the previous officeholder, Yanis Varoufakis, abruptly resigned earlier that morning. An Oxford-educated economist, Tsakalotos was Greece's chief negotiator with creditors and is said to be adept at the finer points of eurozone etiquette. "He speaks their language better than they do," an unnamed Greek official told The Guardian. That would be a departure from the pugilistic Varoufakis, who said upon his exit, "I shall wear the creditors' loathing with pride."

On Sunday, Greece overwhelmingly voted to reject a bailout deal with its creditors, handing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras a decisive victory and strengthening his position in negotiations.