George Vassiliou

George Vassiliou is former President of the Republic of Cyprus (1988-1993) and the founder and leader of the Cypriot United Democrats party (EDI). He was born in 1931 in Famagusta (Cyprus).

Vassiliou’s father was a doctor by profession and a member of the central committee of the Cypriot Communist party. He fought for the communists in the Hellenic Civil War. After the end of the civil war, the Vassilious settled in Eastern Europe. George Vassiliou went to university in Hungary and was a student of Imre Nagy.

In 1956, following the Soviet invasion, he fled Hungary and continued his studies in London.

In 1988, he was elected president as an independent candidate succeeding Spyros Kyprianou. As President, he stopped the police practice of keeping files on Cypriot citizens’ political beliefs and actively participated in negotiations to reach a peaceful solution of the Cypriot conflict.

After he lost the 1993 election to Glafkos Klerides, he founded and headed the Movement of Free Democrats. He was elected to the Cypriot Parliament, while his political party won two seats (out of 56) in the Parliamentary election in 1996. The same year a new party called United Democrats was formed. He was elected head of the United Democrats and remained in this post until 2005. In 2001, Vassiliou’s party lost the Parliamentary election and he was not re-elected. Following the Cyprus referendum of 2004, in which he was a strong supporter of the Annan Plan, he resigned from the presidency of the United Democrats.

In 1998-2003, George Vassiliou served as chief negotiator on the issue of Cyprus’ accession to the European Union.