Nicos Anastasiades is the current President of Cyprus, who is in the office since 28 February 2013. Formerly, he was President of the Democratic Party (1997 – 2013) and a Member of Parliament. Anastasiades is also a law degree holder from the University College London.
Early Life and Education
Nicos Anastasiades was born on 27 September 1946 in Pera Pedi, Cyprus. Graduating from high school, he joined the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens for an undergraduate degree in law. He also went to the reputed University college London for a Master’s degree in shipping law.
Personal Life
70-year-old Nicos Anastasiades is married to Andri Moustakoudi since 1971. The couple has two daughters: Elsa and Ino Anastasiades.
Career
Completing law education in 1972, Anastasiades returned to his home country and established a law firm. Four years later, he helped found the Democratic Rally party and left the Centre Union. He served the newly-formed party as secretary of Limassol district and subsequently got elected to a seat in the House of Representatives in 1981. Then, he quickly progressed to hold a membership of National Council in 1995 and assume party leadership in 1997.
As Party Leader, Nicos Anastasiades ran for 2013 presidential election nomination. He thrashed opponent Eleni Theocharous by receiving more than 86% of the 1008 votes. In the final elections against Malas, he became the champion with 57.48% votes. Subsequently, Anastasiades assumed the office on 28 February 2013 and left Party leadership.
As President of Cyprus, Anastasiades helped Cypriot government gain a €10-billion bailout from European lenders. However, some critics say that President Anastasiades broke his campaign promises by letting financial services confiscate bank accounts, a move which reportedly caused a heavy loss in consumer welfare. In the same way, Anastasiades had also promised a reduction in military conscription. The Ministry of Defense has finally been able to reach a decision to reduce conscriptions to 14 months for all personnel who joined after 2015 summer.
During his time at the office, Anastasiades has made several meetings with foreign leaders. Most of his meetups include European leaders such as former French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, and former Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi.
Distinctions
- First Vice-president of the delegation of the House to the EU-Cyprus Joint Parliamentary Committee
- Leader of the delegation of the House to the Association of Asian Parliaments for Peace
- Leader of the delegation of the House to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean
- Leader of the delegation of the House to the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly (EMPA) (Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean since 2010)
- Vice-president of the Executive Committee of the Cyprus Group to the Inter-Parliamentary Union
Trump and Anastasiades
According to the CyprusMail, President Anastasiades sent a congratulatory message to Donald Trump, following a win against Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton on November 8. The message gestured towards building a stronger relationship between the two countries in fields of energy, commerce, investment and counter-terrorism.
