George Vasiliou
| Georgios Vassiliou Γιώργος Βασιλείου |
|
|---|---|
| 3rd President of the Republic of Cyprus | |
|
In office February 28, 1988 – February 28, 1993 |
|
| Vice President | vacant |
| Preceded by | Spyros Kyprianou |
| Succeeded by | Glafcos Clerides |
| 1st President of United Democrats | |
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In office 1996–2005 |
|
| Succeeded by | Michalis Papapetrou |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
20 May 1931 Famagusta |
| Nationality | Cypriot |
| Political party | United Democrats (Enomeni Dimokrates) |
| Spouse(s) | Androulla Vassiliou |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | University of London |
| Religion | Cypriot Orthodox |
Georgios Vasos Vassiliou (Greek: Γιώργος Βασιλείου) (born May 20, 1931 in Famagusta, Cyprus) was the third President of the Republic of Cyprus from 1988 to 1993. He was also the founder and leader of the Cypriot United Democrats party (EDI) and a highly successful businessman.
Vassiliou's father Vasos was a member of the central committee of AKEL, the Cypriot Communist party. He was a doctor by profession, and volunteered as a doctor on the side of the Communists in the Greek Civil War. During the civil war, the rest of the Vassiliou family settled in Hungary. Vassiliou himself went to university in Hungary and was a student of Imre Nagy. He fled Hungary following the Soviet invasion and continued his studies at the University of London.
He was elected president as an independent candidate with support from AKEL in 1988, succeeding Spyros Kyprianou, who had served two presidential terms. During his time in office, Cyprus experienced economic growth and he was responsible for a number of reforms including stopping the police practice of keeping files on Cypriot citizens' political beliefs. He worked towards a negotiated solution to the Cyprus dispute based on the Ghali set of ideas, although the dispute remained unresolved by the time he left office in 1993.
After he lost the 1993 elections to Glafkos Klerides, he founded the Free Democrats Movement and he was elected president of the party. He was elected member of the Cypriot Parliamient, while his political party won two seats (out of 56) in the Parliamentary Elections in 1996. The same year the party was merged with the political party ADISOK and formed a new party United Democrats.
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