1985 Greek presidential election

The 1985 Greek presidential election was an indirect election for the position of President of the Hellenic Republic and was held by the Hellenic Parliament in March 1985. The election became central stage of the first constitutional crisis of the Third Hellenic Republic triggered by the Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou, who suddenly declared not to support Konstantinos Karamanlis for a second term as President of the Republic.

Papandreou instead chose to back Christos Sartzetakis, a Supreme Court of Greece judge popular to Left voters. Papandreou's choice was controversial because it was accompanied by proposals for constitutional reforms designed to further increase the power of his position by reducing the presidential powers, which were acting as checks and balances against the powerful executive branch led by the prime minister. The election was conducted under a tense and confrontational atmosphere due to Papandreou's constitutionally dubious tactics. The opposition, New Democracy, led by Konstantinos Mitsotakis and Karamanlis' former party, deemed the vote illegal, with Mitsotakis threatening to remove Sartzetakis from the presidency if they won the upcoming parliamentary elections, thereby intensifying the constitutional crisis.

The confrontation dominated and polarized the upcoming parliamentary election campaigns. However, Sartzetakis' election helped Papandreou and his socialist party (PASOK) to secure the June election despite Papandreou's failure to address Greece's worsening economy. After the election, all political parties accepted Sartzetakis as president, ending the constitutional crisis, despite a later court ruling designating the election of Sartzetakis as unconstitutional. The constitutional amendments took effect in 1986.