Mr Tsipras joined the Young Communists Society in the 1980s and by 1991 at the age of 17 organised the occupation of his high school in protest at education reforms.

Pupils ate and slept at the school and he told an interviewer at the time: "We want the right to judge for ourselves whether to skip class."

He went on to university to study to become a civil engineer, where he continued his political rise.

In 2008 at the age of 34 he became the leader of the Syriza party, which was formed in 2004 as a coalition of left-wing groups ranging from the Maoists to the Greens.

Hailed for his no fear, firebrand approach and commitment to an anti-austerity agenda, he led the party to take a 27% vote share in the 2012 General Election. It made Syriza the second biggest party in the Greek parliament.

He doesn't like ties. Simple as that. Doesn't wear them, won't wear them. When asked recently he said: "If you haven't seen me wearing a tie until now, I doubt that you will as prime minister."

Firmly anti-austerity, he wants to renegotiate the terms of the EU IMF bailout, and wants Europe to agree to erase most of Greece's debt.

However, the head of the, IMF Christine Lagarde, has said the country has "no wiggle room".

Greece has suffered five years of recession, tax hikes and record unemployment (one in four people don’t have a job).