greece is a parliamentary republic, in which the leader of the party with more seats in the parliament is the prime minister. the country has a president, but his powers are ceremonial. he is the head of state, not the head of government, much like how kings and queens operate in constitutional monarchies and is elected by parliament and not the people. its economy is the highest in the balkans region, though facing financial difficulties due to a greek government-debt crisis. the country was under occupation by the ottoman empire until 1821.