Former president of Cyprus President Glafcos Clerides passed away early Friday evening at the age of 94. Glafkos Clerides was one of the most prominent personalities of Cyprus, who tried to unify the divided island and guided the country to European Union membership.
Irony of the history. Glafkos Clerides passed away exactly on the 30th anniversary since Turkey declared the north of Cyprus a so-called ‘independent state’ on 15. November 1983.
The fourth president of Cyprus, Clerides was widely respected for deftly navigating the Mediterranean island’s often treacherous politics over half a century, though he was never able to reunify the island.
After losing in two presidential elections in 1983 and 1988, Clerides won the office in 1993 and a second five-year term in 1998. During that time he ushered Cyprus into the European Union, despite the division with the North of the island occupied by Turkey since 1974.
The island was split into an internationally recognized, Greek-speaking south and a Turkish-speaking north after a 1974 invasion by Turkey, a reaction to a coup attempt by supporters of union with Greece.
The Cyprus problem was Clerides’ passion, and in 2003 he unsuccessfully sought re-election for a limited third term to continue handling delicate reunification negotiations. He lost to Tassos Papadopoulos, who accused Clerides of giving too much away during reunification talks.
Clerides supported a U.N. reunification plan, which was overwhelmingly rejected by Greek Cypriots and approved by Turkish Cypriots in separate referenda in April 2004.
Despite his ouster, he remained steadfast in his support for the U.N. plan whose rejection he warned would mean “burying the land of our fathers.” (full article here)
Read also about Glafkos Clerides life dedicated to politics in GreekNewsOnline in English.
