The top 2 leaders emerging from Greece's elections

Demetris Nellas - The Associated Press

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's parliamentary election Sunday confirmed opinion poll projections that the conservative New Democracy party would win the most votes, although the result was set to prove well below the conservatives' expectations. The socialist PASOK party was pushed into third place for the first time since its inaugural showing in November 1974, behind the surprisingly strong Radical Left Coalition (Syriza) party.

Here are profiles of the leaders of the two front-running parties:

—Antonis Samaras, New Democracy

The 61-year-old, U.S.-educated economist may have emerged as the official winner of the election, but with projections giving it less than 20 percent of the vote, he has led Greece's main conservative party to its worst performance by far since it was founded in 1974. The previous low of 33.47 percent was during the disastrous defeat of 2009.

Samaras' gamble to push for an early election in order to gain a parliamentary majority backfired.

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May 07, 2012