Spyros Kyprianou
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Spyros Achilleos Kyprianou ( el, Σπύρος Κυπριανού; 28 October 1932 – 12 March 2002) was one of the most prominent
politicians A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
and
barristers A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and g ...
of modern
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 ...
. He served as the second president of Cyprus from 1977 to 1988. Spyrou Kyprianou Avenue ( el, Λεωφόρος Σπύρου Κυπριανού) 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 Mesaori ...
was named after him posthumously.


Early life and education

Kyprianou was born in
Limassol Limassol (; el, Λεμεσός, Lemesós ; tr, Limasol or ) is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the district with the same name. Limassol is the second largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban populatio ...
in 1932. He studied Economics and Commerce at the City of London College and law at Gray΄s Inn. He also studied comparative law, receiving a diploma.


Political career

During the time he spent in London as a student, Kyprianou founded the National Union of Cypriot Students in England (E.F.E.K.A.) of which he was the first President. In 1952 he was appointed Secretary of
Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...
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 ...
in London and in 1954 he assumed responsibility for the Office of the Secretary of the Cyprus Ethnarchy in London, the major objective of which was to inform British public opinion on the Cyprus issue. This effort was intensified after the start of the liberation struggle in Cyprus in 1955. Due to this activity, he was forced to leave the UK in June 1956 and went to
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 wi ...
. There, he collaborated with the Panhellenic Committee for Self-Determination for Cyprus which aimed to raise the profile of the Cyprus case on the international scene. From August 1956 to March 1957, Kyprianou represented the Cyprus Ethnarchy in New York. Later, he was allowed to return to his London post as representative of the Cyprus Ethnarchy. He stayed in London until the signing of the London – Zurich Agreements for the independence of Cyprus and returned to Cyprus with Archbishop Makarios in March 1959. During the transitional period after the signing of the agreements on Cyprus, Kyprianou represented the Greek Cypriot side at the Athens Conference for the drafting of the Agreement on the Application of the Tripartite Alliance (Cyprus – Greece – Turkey), this was provided for in the London – Zurich Agreements. After the declaration of the independence of Cyprus in August 1960, the President of the Republic of Cyprus Archbishop Makarios appointed Kyprianou Minister of Justice and, a few days later, Minister of Foreign Affairs. As Minister of Foreign Affairs, he repeatedly represented Cyprus at the UN
Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
, and in sessions of the U.N. General Assembly during debates on the Cyprus issue. He also participated in meetings of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, of which he served as Chairman from April to December 1967. In addition, he visited countries and represented Cyprus in negotiations with foreign governments. In September 1964, in Moscow, he signed the Agreement for Soviet Military Aid to Cyprus. He resigned from his post as Minister of Foreign Affairs on 5 May 1972, after a dispute with the military regime in Athens. After this resignation, he worked as a lawyer and a legal counsellor. On 1 August 1974, following the coup of the Greek junta and the Turkish invasion in Cyprus, Kyprianou went to Athens where he had talks with the Government of National Unity, which took over following the collapse of the junta. He travelled between Athens and London where President Makarios was staying temporarily. In September 1974, he headed the Cyprus delegation to the
General Assembly of the United Nations The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...
during the debate on Cyprus. In February 1975, he attended the Security Council meeting in New York as member of the Cyprus delegation. On 12 May 1976, he announced the establishment of the Democratic Party. In the parliamentary elections of 5 September 1976, the Democratic Party won 21 seats out of a total of 35 in the House of Representatives, and Kyprianou was elected President of the House. After the death of the President of the Republic Archbishop Makarios on 3 August 1977, Kyprianou became Acting President of the Republic, in accordance with the constitution. On 3 September 1977, he was unanimously elected President of the Republic to serve the remaining term of office of Archbishop Makarios. Kyprianou's elder son Achilles was kidnapped by members of
EOKA The Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston (EOKA; ; el, Εθνική Οργάνωσις Κυπρίων Αγωνιστών, lit=National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters) was a Greek Cypriot nationalist paramilitary organisation that fought a cam ...
on the evening of 14 December 1977. Achilles was later released on 18 December. In the
presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...
of 28 February 1978, and 13 February 1983, he was reelected as President of the Republic, the first time being elected unopposed. He was defeated by
George Vassiliou Giorgos Vasos Vassiliou ( el, Γιώργος Βασιλείου; born 20 May 1931) is a Cypriot politician who served as the third president of Cyprus from 1988 to 1993. He was also the founder and leader of the Cypriot United Democrats party (E ...
at the elections in 1988. As President of the Republic of Cyprus, he visited many countries and participated in sessions of the United Nations, as well as summit conferences of the
Non-Aligned Movement The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 120 countries that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide. The movement originated in the aftermath ...
and the
Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the C ...
. Kyprianou was awarded medals of honour, distinctions and decorations by various countries. In 1985, the
University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade ( sr, / ) is a public university in Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-ba ...
awarded him an honorary doctorate. Following the parliamentary elections of 26 May 1996, Kyprianou was elected President of the House of Representatives. He stepped down in 2001, ending a 30-year career in politics.


Family

Kyprianou married Mimi Pagathrokliton in 1956 and had two sons, Achilleas and Markos. His second son,
Markos Kyprianou Markos Kyprianou ( el, Μάρκος Κυπριανού ; born 22 January 1960) is a Cypriot politician who served as a Minister of Foreign Affairs until his official resignation on 19 July 2011, following the events of the Evangelos Florakis Nav ...
, served as a
European Commissioner A European Commissioner is a member of the 27-member European Commission. Each member within the Commission holds a specific portfolio. The commission is led by the President of the European Commission. In simple terms they are the equivalent ...
from 2004 to 2008 and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus.


Death

Spyros Kyprianou died on 12 March 2002 after a long fight with cancer. He was survived by his wife, Mimi Pagathrokliton, and their two sons. His widow, former first lady Mimi Kyprianou, died on 22 November 2021.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kyprianou, Spyros 1932 births 2002 deaths 20th-century presidents of Cyprus People from Limassol Democratic Party (Cyprus) politicians Cyprus Ministers of Foreign Affairs Presidents of the House of Representatives (Cyprus) Leaders of political parties in Cyprus Cypriot people of the Cyprus Emergency Deaths from cancer in Cyprus 20th-century Cypriot lawyers