A trailblazing judge with particular expertise in environmental law and the constitution will become Greece's first female president on Wednesday.

The candidacy of Ekaterini Sakellaropoulou has already won cross-party support and been welcomed by some commentators as a consensus candidate during a difficult time for Greek foreign policy.

"The time has come for Greece to open up to the future," Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said earlier this month, as he submitted Sakellaropoulou's name for Wednesday's parliamentary vote.

A four-decade justice veteran, 63-year-old Sakellaropoulou has since 2018 headed Greece's top administrative court, the Council of State, where she was again the first woman to occupy the post.