Lila-Irene Cleridou (''née'' Lila Erulkar; 31 October 1921 – 6 June 2007) was the

First Lady of Cyprus First Lady of Cyprus refers to the wife of the president of Cyprus. The country's current first lady is Andri Moustakoudes, wife of President Nicos Anastasiades, who has held the position since 2013. First ladies of Cyprus References {{DEF ...

briefly in 1974 and again from 1993 until 2003 during the

presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified by a ...

of her husband,

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, h ...

Biography

Cleridou was born in

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. Her father, Dr Abraham Solomon Erulkar, was a prominent

Indian Jewish The history of the Jews in India dates back to antiquity.

medical doctor in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

, President of the

Medical Council of India The Medical Council of India (MCI) was a statutory body for establishing uniform and high standards of medical education in India until its dissolution on 25 September 2020 when it was replaced by National Medical Commission. The Council grante ...

, and

personal physician Concierge medicine, also known as retainer medicine, is a relationship between a patient and a primary care physician in which the patient pays an annual fee or retainer. This may or may not be in addition to other charges. In exchange for the reta ...

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

. A supporter of

Indian nationalism Indian nationalism is an instance of territorial nationalism, which is inclusive of all of the people of India, despite their diverse ethnic, linguistic and religious backgrounds. Indian nationalism can trace roots to pre-colonial India, b ...

, Dr Erulkar was a close associate of both Gandhi and

Khan Abdul Ghani Khan , image = Khan Abdul Ghani Khan 1940s.jpg , image_size = 250px , caption = Khan in the 1940s , birth_date = , birth_place = Hashtnagar, North-West Frontier Province, British India, now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan , death_date = , dea ...

. Cleridou was raised in the

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

i port city of

Surat Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is now ...

, as well as

. She lived and studied in Bombay until she moved to London when she was 11 years old. Erulkar studied speech at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

and became a professional actress. Towards the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Cleridou was hired by the

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...

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 ...

, where she worked with novelist

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...

. While working in London, she met her future husband, Cypriot Glafcos Clerides, a law student and gunner for the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

(RAF), shortly after the end of the war. Clerides had visited BBC's headquarters to see his sister, Chrysanthe, who also worked at the broadcaster. Cleridou met him in the office while he waited to see Chrysanthe. The trio went out to the Vienna Café after work, and Cleridou and Clerides began dating shortly afterwards. Cleridou once recalled that she went on her first date with Clerides because he was a "craggy youth who had just been released from a concentration camp" (Clerides had been held as a POW in Nazi Germany during World War II). After a few dates, Clerides proposed marriage to Cleridou, who initially turned him down, telling him, "You were a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

and have seen no women, let’s wait a little". However, he persisted and she eventually accepted his proposal. Clerides sent a letter to her father in India to ask his permission to marry Lila. Dr. Erulkar replied to Clerides with a short

telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

, but advised that the couple wait one year to marry, according to the account in Clerides' biography. The couple complied to the request. After waiting one year, the couple married in a

civil ceremony A civil, or registrar, ceremony is a non-religious legal marriage ceremony performed by a government official or functionary. In the United Kingdom, this person is typically called a registrar. In the United States, civil ceremonies may be performed ...

held in London in 1947. Cleridou converted to

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek language, Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the Eastern Orthodox Church, entire body of Orthodox (Chalced ...

Christianity and chose "Irene" as her

baptismal name A Christian name, sometimes referred to as a baptismal name, is a religious personal name given on the occasion of a Christian baptism, though now most often assigned by parents at birth. In English-speaking cultures, a person's Christian name ...

. The couple had one daughter, Katherine (nicknamed Katy), born in 1949, who would serve in 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 ...

for the

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 ...

party. Cleridou became First Lady in 1993. Upon their elevation to President and First Lady, Archbishop

Chrysostomos I of Cyprus Chrysostomos I, born Christoforos Aristodimou ( el, Χριστόφορος Αριστοδήμου; 27 September 1927 – 22 December 2007), was the Archbishop of Cyprus from 1977 to 2006. Biography He was born in the village of Statos in P ...

, the head of the

Church of Cyprus The Church of Cyprus ( el, Ἐκκλησία τῆς Κύπρου, translit=Ekklisia tis Kyprou; tr, Kıbrıs Kilisesi) is one of the autocephalous Greek Orthodox churches that together with other Eastern Orthodox churches form the communio ...

, suggested that Clerides and Cleridou have a church wedding, which they did in 1995 at the ages of 76 and 74 respectively. In February 1997, Clerides and Cleridou undertook an official, six-day

state visit A state visit is a formal visit by a head of state to a foreign country, at the invitation of the head of state of that foreign country, with the latter also acting as the official host for the duration of the state visit. Speaking for the host ...

to her native India, including

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

. During her tour, Cleridou explained that India's independence movement helped her understand Cyprus' move towards independence from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. She also spoke of her admiration for India, saying, "I love India. I love the people. I love its history. I was brought up as an Indian and I have to admit that my pride in India is noticed by everybody. I have not changed in that in one iota." Cleridou suffered from deteriorating health during her later years. She spent several weeks in hospital during the summer of 2007, but was discharged about one week before her death. Cleridou died at her family home in Meneou, just outside

Larnaca Larnaca ( el, Λάρνακα ; tr, Larnaka) is a city on the south east coast of Cyprus and the capital of the district of the same name. It is the third-largest city in the country, after Nicosia and Limassol, with a metro population of 144 ...

, on 6 June 2007, at the age of 86. She was survived by her husband, who died in 2013, and daughter, Katherine. She was buried in a family plot in a cemetery 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clerides, Lila 1921 births 2007 deaths First Ladies of Cyprus Cypriot actresses 20th-century Cypriot actresses 20th-century Cypriot women politicians 20th-century Cypriot politicians Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music Indian Christians Indian emigrants to Cyprus Indian people of Jewish descent People of Indian-Jewish descent Cypriot people of Jewish descent People from Surat People from Mumbai People from Larnaca Converts to Eastern Orthodoxy Eastern Orthodox Christians from Cyprus 21st-century Cypriot women politicians 21st-century Cypriot politicians Indian expatriates in the United Kingdom