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| Nicos Anastasiades | |
|---|---|
| Name | Nicos Anastasiades |
| Native name | Νίκος Αναστασιάδης |
| Birth date | 27 September 1946 |
| Birth place | Pera Pedi, British Cyprus |
| Nationality | Cypriot |
| Occupation | Politician, Lawyer |
| Office | President of the Republic of Cyprus |
| Term start | 28 February 2013 |
| Term end | 28 February 2023 |
| Predecessor | Demetris Christofias |
| Successor | Nikos Christodoulides |
Nicos Anastasiades (born 27 September 1946) is a Cypriot politician and lawyer who served as President of the Republic of Cyprus from 2013 to 2023. He previously led the Democratic Rally party and was a Member of the House of Representatives for Limassol. His presidency encompassed fiscal stabilization, negotiations over the Cyprus dispute, and diplomatic engagement with the European Union, United Nations, and regional powers.
Born in Pera Pedi, in the Limassol District of Cyprus when the island was part of British Cyprus, he was raised in a family active in local affairs. He attended local primary schools before studying law at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and completing legal training in Cyprus. Early influences included figures from Cypriot politics such as Makarios III and Glafcos Clerides, and contemporary legal minds in Athens and Nicosia.
He began his professional life as a practicing barrister and established a legal practice in Limassol. Entering politics, he was elected to the House of Representatives where he represented Limassol and served on parliamentary committees alongside politicians from AKEL, DISY Youth, and other Cypriot parties. In 1997 he became leader of the Democratic Rally (DISY), succeeding Glafcos Clerides in steering party strategy through parliamentary elections against opponents including Spyros Kyprianou and Tassos Papadopoulos. He stood in presidential contests against candidates such as Dimitris Christofias and later Stavros Malas, building alliances across the Republic of Cyprus political spectrum and engaging with international figures from Brussels and Washington, D.C..
Elected in February 2013, he assumed the presidency during a financial crisis that had regional implications across the European sovereign debt crisis and required interaction with institutions like the European Central Bank, International Monetary Fund, and European Commission. His administration coordinated bailout negotiations with representatives such as Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Christine Lagarde, and Jean-Claude Juncker. In foreign affairs he engaged with leaders including Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Vladimir Putin, Barack Obama, Angela Merkel, Charles Michel, and Antony Blinken, and with multilateral organizations including the United Nations and NATO partners. His term included renewed high-level talks on the Cyprus dispute and efforts to host negotiation rounds under the auspices of UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
His government implemented measures aimed at stabilizing public finances, cooperating with the European Central Bank and the European Commission on structural reforms and fiscal consolidation. Policies addressed the banking sector, engaging with institutions such as Bank of Cyprus and Laiki Bank amid high-profile restructuring that drew scrutiny from European Court of Auditors observers. He pursued privatization and investment attraction involving international firms and sovereign actors from Russia, China, and the United Arab Emirates, negotiating energy and infrastructure projects with partners including ENI, TotalEnergies, and ExxonMobil in the context of Eastern Mediterranean gas developments. Labor-market and pension adjustments were debated in parliament alongside representatives from Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry and unions aligned with Pancyprian Federation of Labour (PEO) and Cyprus Workers Confederation (SEK).
He actively engaged in negotiations aimed at resolving the Cyprus dispute, participating in talks with Mustafa Akinci and later Ersin Tatar from the Turkish Cypriot side, and coordinating with guarantor states including Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. High-level multilateral diplomacy involved meetings with UN Secretary-General envoys such as Espen Barth Eide and Alexander Downer and participation in Crans-Montana talks frameworks. He cultivated relations with Israel and Egypt around Eastern Mediterranean energy cooperation, signed agreements with Greece on defense and maritime zones, and engaged the European Union on sanctions and accession-related matters concerning Turkey and regional stability.
His presidency was marked by controversies including the 2013 bank restructuring that affected depositors at Bank of Cyprus and Laiki Bank, drawing criticism from opposition parties such as AKEL and commentators in The Cyprus Mail and international media. Allegations emerged related to his declared assets and the transparency of measures involving offshore interests, prompting scrutiny involving legal advisers and financial intermediaries in jurisdictions like Panama and British Virgin Islands. His handling of the Cyprus reunification talks attracted criticism from both Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities and political figures such as Nikos Christodoulides and Stelios Kyriakides, and he faced protests from civic groups including environmental organizations over energy exploration deals with companies such as ENI and TotalEnergies.
He is married to Andri Anastasiades and has a family based in Nicosia. His legal career earned recognition from professional bodies in Cyprus and alumni networks from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. He received state honors and foreign decorations from leaders of Greece, Israel, and other states for bilateral cooperation, and participated in ceremonies at institutions like the Presidential Palace (Nicosia) and the United Nations Headquarters.
Category:Presidents of Cyprus Category:Cypriot lawyers Category:1946 births Category:Living people