Anastasiades, Nikos

Anastasiades, Nikos nēˈkōs änäs-täsēyäˈdĕs [key], 1946–, Greek Cypriot politician, president of the Republic of Cyprus (2013–). A lawyer, Anastasiades founded (1972) his own law firm and entered politics (1976) as a founding member of the conservative Democratic Rally party (DISY); he became the leader of the DISY in 1997. First elected to parliament in 1981, he was (2001–6) chairman of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee and chaired or vice-chaired several other committees. In the 2013 presidential election, dominated by Cyprus's fiscal crisis, Anastasiades defeated leftist Stavros Malas after a runoff. He was reelected in 2018, again defeating Malas in a runoff.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Modern Greek History: Biographies