Greece gets a new papa

[Lord Zentei]

Athens, Greece (CNN) -- Lucas Papademos, a former European Central Bank vice president, has been named prime minister of Greece, the Greek president's office said Thursday.

Papademos, a professor at Harvard University, was the governor of the Bank of Greece when the country adopted the euro in 2001. The 64-year-old Papademos has advised outgoing Prime Minister George Papandreou on economic matters for the last two years, the Athens News Agency reported.

Greek President Karolos Papoulia gave Papademos a mandate to form an interim government, the Athens New Agency reported.

A native of Athens, Papademos studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the 1970s, earning undergraduate and graduate degrees before receiving a Ph.D in economics, the news agency said. He taught at Columbia University from 1975 to 1984 and the University of Athens from 1988 to 1993, the news agency said.

Papandreou's office had said he would resign Wednesday, but that move was delayed until Thursday.

In a televised address to the nation Wednesday, Papandreou said that a government of national unity would do whatever was necessary to bring Greece out of its economic crisis.

The country will be stronger and more secure after it implements a controversial European bailout deal that was agreed to last month, he said.

Greece wants the international community to see that it knows how to be united in the face of difficulty, he added. "A new season is opening," he said, adding that he wished the new government success.

Papandreou said this week he was optimistic about the formation of a new government amid the thorny discussions.

The drama in Greece has shaken international markets, as investors fear the new bailout deal negotiated with European leaders late last month -- which has stringent austerity measures attached -- may not be implemented.

Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, warned Wednesday of the potential for a "lost decade" if nations do not join forces against the "dark clouds" gathering on the horizon.

"The global economy has entered a dangerous and uncertain phase," she said, addressing the 2011 International Finance Forum in Beijing.

"If we do not act, and act together, we could enter a downward spiral of uncertainty, financial instability, and a collapse in global demand. Ultimately, we could face a lost decade of low growth and high unemployment," Lagarde said.

I doubt that we're likely to see much in the way of policy change given that he's the predecessor's economic adviser, but we'll have to see how competent a leader he is. Do our Greek members have any thoughts on this?