Mayor of Nicosia Eleni Mavrou at her office Republic of Cyprus

Eleni Mavrou (, ) is the Executive Chairman of Dialogos Media Group. She served as

Minister of Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergenc ...

of the

Republic of Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

until February 2013. Until 2011, she was the mayor of the capital city Nicosia for 5 years. Thus, Ms Mavrou became the first female mayor of the Nicosia, as well as the first female Minister of Interior. Born in

Kyrenia Kyrenia ( el, Κερύνεια ; tr, Girne ) is a city on the northern coast of Cyprus, noted for its historic harbour and castle. It is under the ''de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. While there is evidence showing that the wider region ...

in 1961, her family was forced to leave their house in 1974 due to the

Turkish invasion of Cyprus The Turkish invasion of Cyprus began on 20 July 1974 and progressed in two phases over the following month. Taking place upon a background of intercommunal violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, and in response to a Greek junta-s ...

, and since then has been residing in Nicosia.

Student career

Mavrou initially studied Civil Engineering at the Higher Technical Institute in Nicosia, but continued her education at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, where she obtained her BSc degree in Politics and International Relations. During her student years, Ms Mavrou was actively involved in Cypriot local student movement, and later in the progressive youth movement. Among other things, she held the position of Vice President of the Cyprus Federation of Students and Young Scientists, and was appointed Secretary General of EDON.

Political career

As a member of AKEL's Central Committee, Ms Mavrou's efforts were focused on the areas of Local Authority and the Environment for many years. In addition, she demonstrated a great interest in human rights issues, and played an active role in the women's movement. She served as a Councilor on the Nicosia Municipal Council for two consecutive terms from 1986 to 1996. In 2001, she was elected in Nicosia to be among AKEL's members of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

, and was re-elected to the same position in 2006. She served as President of the House Committee on the Environment, and as a member of the House Committees on Internal Affairs and Human Rights. She was a member of the European Convention on the Future of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

, and in 2003 was appointed by the House of Representatives as a Cyprus observer at the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

. After Cyprus's accession to the European Union, and until the elected Cyprus

Members of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

took office, Ms Mavrou represented Cyprus at the European Parliament. During the same period, she was a member of the Committee for the Environment, Public Health, and Food Safety, as well as the Committee for Civil Liberties, Justice, and Internal Affairs. In the Municipal Elections which were held on December 17, 2006, she ran as the candidate of the Municipal Coalition which united the three parties of AKEL,

DIKO The Democratic Party ( el, Δημοκρατικό Κόμμα (ΔΗΚΟ), ''Dimokratikó Kómma'' (DIKO)) is a Greek-Cypriot nationalist, centrist political party in Cyprus founded in 1976 by Spyros Kyprianou. DIKO is variously described as cent ...

, and EDEK. She was elected Mayor of Nicosia, and became the first female mayor of the capital of Cyprus. She took office on January 2, 2007, and held the post until December 31, 2011. On March 20, 2012, she was appointed

. Ms Mavrou has been awarded the decoration of Chevalier of the

National Order of the Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

of the French Republic, as well as the ''Grand Decoration of Honour in Silver with Sash'' for Services to the Republic of Austria (2007). She is also long-listed for the 2008

World Mayor World Mayor is a biennial award organized by the City Mayors Foundation since 2004. It intends to raise the profile of mayors worldwide, as well as honour those who have served their communities well and who have contributed to the well-being of c ...

award.

References

External links

CityMayors profileRepublic of Cyprus: Press and Information Office
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mavrou, Eleni 1961 births Living people Alumni of University of London Worldwide Alumni of the University of London Cypriot city councillors Cypriot refugees Mayors of places in Cyprus Members of the House of Representatives (Cyprus) Politicians from Nicosia Women mayors of places in Cyprus Progressive Party of Working People politicians Recipients of the Grand Decoration with Sash for Services to the Republic of Austria Women government ministers of Cyprus 21st-century Cypriot women politicians 21st-century Cypriot politicians Female interior ministers Mayors of Nicosia Cyprus Ministers of the Interior