Greek Fin Min To Resign After Sunday's Election

--Minister to step down after taking on position as head of Socialists
--Announcement comes after euro-zone countries sign off on second Greek bailout

ATHENS -- Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said Wednesday he will step down from his position once formally elected to lead the country's Socialists Sunday.

According to a transcript of his comments in a television interview with privately owned television station Alpha, Venizelos said discussions have been held on his replacement but stopped short of saying when exactly he will step down and who his replacement might be.

"I cannot continue to play a double role. Once I take on my duties as the head of the biggest party in this parliament, I will have to dedicate myself to these duties," he said.

Government spokesman Pantelis Kapsis refrained from commenting on when Venizelos will be replaced or by whom, after being contacted by Dow Jones Newswires.

On Sunday, the finance minister, 55 years old, is expected to be appointed as the head of the Socialists, also known as Pasok, in a party vote to be held across the country. The procedure is largely a formality after Venizelos emerged last Sunday as the only candidate for the position.

His comments comes after euro-zone countries finally signed off Wednesday on Greece's second bailout program, ending a protracted and dramatic negotiating process that started last July.

Venizelos, a constitutional lawyer, has been overseeing an unprecedented debt restructuring of EUR206 billion worth of Greek bonds held by private-sector investors that was a crucial prerequisite for the country's second program. The nominal value of their holdings was more than halved and their repayment period extended.

The biggest chunk of the restructuring was settled earlier this week through a bond swap. Holders of foreign-law Greek government bonds are set to settle their bond swap in early April.

With the country expected to go to elections in April or early May, Venizelos will take over the reins of the Socialist party, which controls 131 seats in Greece's 300 member parliament, at a time where popularity levels are scraping against historic lows.

He will replace as former prime minister George Papandreou who is expected to step down as Pasok president after Sunday's vote.

According to a poll published earlier in March, the Socialist party garners just 11% of the vote, up three percentage points from a month ago. Rivals conservatives New Democracy continue to lead in public opinion, getting 28% of the vote, but not enough to form a governing majority in the Greece's parliament.

Both Pasok and New Democracy back Greece's interim government, which took power in November with the task of bringing the country's second bailout to fruition.