Ionas Nicolaou ( el, Ιωνάς Νικολάου; born 21 January 1963 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 ...

) is a

Cypriot Cypriot (in older sources often "Cypriote") refers to someone or something of, from, or related to the country of Cyprus. * Cypriot people, or of Cypriot descent; this includes: **Armenian Cypriots **Greek Cypriots **Maronite Cypriots **Turkish C ...

lawyer and former

Democratic Rally The Democratic Rally ( el, Δημοκρατικός Συναγερμός, translit=Dimokratikós Sinagermós, ΔΗΣΥ/DISY) is a liberal-conservative, Christian-democratic political party in Cyprus led by Averof Neofytou. The party was founded ...

politician. He served as Minister of Justice and Public Order during two governments, but left office on 1 June 2019 following his resignation.

Education and career

Nicolaou studied law at the

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

, and has a master's degree in European Union Studies. He worked as a lawyer before becoming a politician.

Political career

In 2001, Nicolaou was elected to represent Nicosia in Parliament, and continued to do so until 2013. He was the chairman of the

Cypriot parliament The House of Representatives ( el, Βουλή των Αντιπροσώπων ; tr, Temsilciler Meclisi) is the national unicameral legislature of the Republic of Cyprus. Members and three observers representing Armenian, Latin, and Maronite Cy ...

's legal affairs committee, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs, and Member of the Parliamentary Committee on the Interior.

Ministerial career

Nicolaou was first appointed Minister of Justice and Public Order on 1 March 2013, during the

first Anastasiades government The First Anastasiades government was the government of Cyprus, forming the Council of Ministers (Cyprus), Council of Ministers, in 2013–2018. Sworn in on 28 February 2013, it initially consisted of 13 ministers representing a governing coaliti ...

. During this time, Nicolaou oversaw high-profile corruption cases, such as the

CYTA CYTA Ltd. (; short for "Cyprus Telecommunication Authority"; gr, Αρχή Τηλεπικοινωνιών Κύπρου (ΑΤΗΚ), ''Archí Tilelikoinonión Kýprou (ATIK)'' ) is a telecommunication provider in Cyprus. The Cyprus Telecommunicat ...

land deal and pension fund allegations, for which he vowed to end

impunity Impunity is avoidance of punishment, loss, or other negative consequences for an action. In the international law of human rights, impunity is failure to bring perpetrators of human rights violations to justice and, as such, itself constitutes a d ...

and "go after" anyone involved in crimes. Nicolaou oversaw the creation of a complaints committee to uphold human rights at the Menoyia (Menogeia) Immigration Detention Centre, which held its first meeting in July 2013. Nicolaou supported the creation of deputy ministers with a focus on commercial shipping, development, and 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 des ...

. He argued that the new deputy ministers would work with their respective ministers, but not sit in the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

, so that output could be increased within the various governmental departments. He continued to be Minister of Justice and Public Order during the second Anastasiades government, starting on 13 February 2018.

Resignation as minister

Nicolaou resigned on 2 May 2019, after accusations of police failure relating to the investigation of Nikos Metaxas, a serial killer. Officials were accused of carelessness when investigating the missing persons reports of the seven victims, due to their status as migrants. Along with his resignation, Nicolaou called for an independent inquiry into the lack of initial investigation. Nicolaou stepped down as minister on 1 June 2019, and was succeeded by

George L. Savvides George L. Savvides ( el, Γιώργος Λ. Σαββίδης) is the Attorney-General of the Republic of Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located sout ...

. He announced he would not be returning to politics in any way, instead returning to practice law.

Personal life

Nicolaou is married with two daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicolaou, Ionas 1963 births Politicians from Nicosia Living people Aristotle University of Thessaloniki alumni Democratic Rally politicians Cyprus Ministers of Justice and Public Order 21st-century Cypriot politicians