Demetris Christofias

President of Cyprus

29 August 1946 Kato Dikomo, British Cyprus

21 June 2019(2019-06-21) (72) Nicosia, Cyprus

28 February 2008 – 28 February 2013

Demetris Christofias, also spelled Dimitris Christofias (Greek: Δημήτρης Χριστόφιας ; 29 August 1946 – 21 June 2019), was a Cypriot politician who served as the sixth President of Cyprus from 2008 to 2013. Christofias was the General Secretary of AKEL (Progressive Party of Working People) and was the European Union's and Cyprus' first — and so far only — communist head of state. He won the 2008 Cypriot presidential elections in the second round of voting. Throughout the election campaign, he pledged to restart talks with Turkish Cypriots in order to find a solution to the Cyprus dispute and reunify the island. He also supported the closure of the British military bases on Cyprus.