Dimitris Christofias

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Dimitris Christofias (Greek Δημήτρης Χριστόφιας) was a Cypriot politician and a former President of the Republic of Cyprus.

Christofias was born on August 29, 1946, in Kato Dikomo, Kerynia province in occupied Cyprus. He became involved in leftist politics early in his youth and held several positions with the youth movement of AKEL. He studied in Moscow where he met his wife, Elsie Chiratou, returning to Cyprus and political life.

In 1988, following the death of Ezekias Papaioannou, Christofias was elected Secretary General of AKEL, a position he retained until 2009, through successive reelections.

He served as a member of the House of Representatives of Cyprus since 1991 and as its president between 2001 and 2008.

Christofias declared himself a candidate for the Presidency of Cyprus. In the first round of the 2008 Presidential elections, on February 17, he placed second with 33.29% of the vote. In the runoff, he defeated Ioannis Kasoulidis of the DISY party, with 53.36% of the vote.

Christofias' presidency was marked by continuous negotiations for the reunification of Cyprus with Turkish-Cypriot leaders Mehmet Ali Talat and, after April 2010, Dervis Eroglu.

During his term of office, the blast at Mari Naval Base took place (July 11, 2011) for which he was heavily criticised.

Near the end of Christofias' presidency, Cyprus was forced to seek an EU bailout after economic woes partially caused by heavy exposure to the debt of mainland Greece.

Christofias did not seek re-election and was replaced by DISY leader Nikos Anastasiades.

He died on June 21, 2019.


Preceded by:
Tassos Papadopoulos
President of Cyprus
2008 - 2013
Succeeded by:
Nikos Anastasiades