Ioannis Clerides
QC CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
: Ιωάννης Κληρίδης, 1887–1961), sometimes known as John Clerides, was a
Greek Cypriot
Greek Cypriots or Cypriot Greeks ( el, Ελληνοκύπριοι, Ellinokýprioi, tr, Kıbrıs Rumları) are the ethnic Greek population of Cyprus, forming the island's largest ethnolinguistic community. According to the 2011 census, 659,115 r ...
lawyer and politician. He served as Mayor of
Nicosia
Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...
and was a candidate for president in Cyprus'
first presidential election in 1959, where he was defeated by Archbishop
Makarios III
Makarios III ( el, Μακάριος Γ΄; born Michael Christodoulou Mouskos) (Greek: Μιχαήλ Χριστοδούλου Μούσκος) (13 August 1913 – 3 August 1977) was a Cypriot politician, archbishop and primate who served as ...
. He was the father of future President of Cyprus
Glafcos Clerides
Glafcos Ioannou Clerides ( el, Γλαύκος Ιωάννου Κληρίδης; 24 April 1919 – 15 November 2013) was a Cypriot politician and barrister who served as the fourth president of Cyprus from 1993 to 2003. At the time of his death, ...
.
Early life
Ioannis Clerides was born in 1887 in
Agros, in the region of
Pitsilia Pitsilia ( el, Πιτσιλιά) is an agricultural region in Cyprus, with total area of , in a mountainous area of rocky land on very steep slopes that have been used mainly for grazing goats and sheep and for producing small amounts of cereals, w ...
but he grew up in
Nicosia
Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...
. In 1907 he graduated from the Pancyprian Teachers Training school and worked as a schoolteacher for a few years before moving to
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
to study
Law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
. He was
called to the bar
The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...
at
Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...
in 1914.
Career
He became a prominent Nicosia lawyer, and wrote on political and legal affairs at the newspapers ''Patris'' and ''Eleftheria''.
Active on the struggle for
Enosis
''Enosis'' ( el, Ένωσις, , "union") is the movement of various Greek communities that live outside Greece for incorporation of the regions that they inhabit into the Greek state. The idea is related to the Megali Idea, an irredentist conc ...
, the union of Cyprus to mainland
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
, he served as Secretary of the National Council (1921), member of the Archbishop's Throne Committee (1927–41), and of the Nicosia Greek Schools Board. Legal adviser to the Archbishop for many years.
He served a single term as Mayor of Nicosia from 1946 to 1949, supported by the left-wing
AKEL
The Progressive Party of Working People ( el, Ανορθωτικό Κόμμα Εργαζόμενου Λαού, ; abbr. , AKEL; tr, Emekçi Halkın İlerici Partisi) is a Marxist–LeninistHelena Smith, Cyprus gets ready for a communist 'takeover ...
. In 1952 he became a member of the Colony's Executive Council (under the British colonial government) but resigned in 1956, protesting the deportation of Archbishop
Makarios III
Makarios III ( el, Μακάριος Γ΄; born Michael Christodoulou Mouskos) (Greek: Μιχαήλ Χριστοδούλου Μούσκος) (13 August 1913 – 3 August 1977) was a Cypriot politician, archbishop and primate who served as ...
to the
Seychelles
Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, V ...
.
In 1959 he was a candidate for president in Cyprus'
first presidential election in 1959, with the support of
AKEL
The Progressive Party of Working People ( el, Ανορθωτικό Κόμμα Εργαζόμενου Λαού, ; abbr. , AKEL; tr, Emekçi Halkın İlerici Partisi) is a Marxist–LeninistHelena Smith, Cyprus gets ready for a communist 'takeover ...
, but was defeated by Archbishop
Makarios III
Makarios III ( el, Μακάριος Γ΄; born Michael Christodoulou Mouskos) (Greek: Μιχαήλ Χριστοδούλου Μούσκος) (13 August 1913 – 3 August 1977) was a Cypriot politician, archbishop and primate who served as ...
. Notably, his own son,
Glafcos Clerides
Glafcos Ioannou Clerides ( el, Γλαύκος Ιωάννου Κληρίδης; 24 April 1919 – 15 November 2013) was a Cypriot politician and barrister who served as the fourth president of Cyprus from 1993 to 2003. At the time of his death, ...
, supported Makarios over his father.
He was awarded the
Queen's Counsel (QC) and
Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) by the British government.
Death
Ioannis Clerides died in 1961, aged 74.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clerides, Glafkos
1887 births
1961 deaths
Members of Gray's Inn
20th-century Cypriot lawyers
Cypriot politicians
People from Nicosia
Mayors of Nicosia