Cyprus - Head of Government

His Excellency Mr Demetris Christofias took office as President of Cyprus on 28 February 2008 following victory at the presidential election of 24 February.

Mr Christofias had served as President of the House of Representatives from 2001 to February 2008. He was first elected to the House of Representatives as an AKEL-Left-New Forces Party candidate for the Kyrenia district in 1991 and was re-elected in 1996, 2001 and 2006. AKEL is translated as: The Progressive Party for the Working People.

Mr Christofias has been General Secretary of the AKEL Central Committee since April 1988 and was re-elected in 1990, 1995, 2000 and 2005. He had earlier been elected to the Secretariat of the AKEL Central Committee in 1987 and was a member of its Political Bureau in 1986. He was a member of the Central Committee from 1982 to 1986. Mr Christofias was an elected member of the Nicosia-Kyrenia District Committee of AKEL in 1976.

He served as General Secretary of the United Democratic Youth Organisation from 1977 to 1987. Before that, he held the post of Central Organisational Secretary from 1974 to 1977. Mr Christofias was elected to the Central Council of the United Democratic Youth Organisation in 1969, which he joined in 1964 at the same time while taking up membership of AKEL and the Pancyprian Federation of Labour.

Mr Christofias first became active in politics at the age of 14 when he joined the Pancyprian United Students Organisation.

He has a Doctorate in History from the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (now known as the Russian Academy of Sciences) and is fluent in Russian.

Mr Christofias was born on 29 August 1946 in Dhikomo, Kyrenia District, in the area of Cyprus under military occupation by Turkey since 1974.

More at:www.presidency.gov.cy