President of the Republic of Cyprus
Πρόεδρος της Κυπριακής Δημοκρατίας (Greek)
Kıbrıs Cumhuriyeti Cumhurbaşkanı (Turkish)
Presidential standard of Cyprus
Incumbent
Nikos Christodoulides
since 28 February 2023
Executive branch of the Government of Cyprus
StyleMr President (informal)
His Excellency (diplomatic)
StatusHead of state
Head of government
Commander-in-chief
Member ofEuropean Council
ResidencePresidential Palace
SeatNicosia, Cyprus
AppointerPopular vote
Term lengthFive years, renewable once consecutively
Constituting instrumentCypriot Constitution
Formation16 August 1960 (1960-08-16)
First holderMakarios III
DeputyVice President of Cyprus (de jure)
President of the House of Representatives (de facto)
Salary119,000 EUR annually[1]
Websitewww.presidency.gov.cy

The President of Cyprus, officially the President of the Republic of Cyprus,[lower-alpha 1] is the head of state and the head of government of Cyprus, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Cypriot National Guard. The office was established by the Constitution of 1960, after Cyprus gained its independence from the United Kingdom.

The combination of the role of head of state and that of government is unique among member states of the European Union, making Cyprus the only EU state with a full presidential system of government.

The constitution, which was negotiated during the London and Zürich Agreements that divided power between the Greek Cypriot community and Turkish Cypriot community, requires the president to be a Greek Cypriot. Other requirements are that the officeholder must be over the age of thirty-five and elected directly in a two-round system. The president's term lasts for five years, and in accordance with the thirteenth amendment to the constitution, no person can serve more than two consecutive terms.

Nikos Christodoulides is the eighth and current president of Cyprus, having assumed office on 28 February 2023.

Powers and limitations

According to the Constitution, the president of the Republic is the head of state, and is elected for a five year term through direct, universal and secret ballot.

Among the most important powers granted to the president of the Republic by the Constitution, are the power to put into effect laws passed by the House of Representatives or the right of veto to prevent legislation passed by the House from being enacted, if a given law concerns issues of the external policy, security and defence of the Republic, the right to refer such legislation back to the legislative body, as well as the right to refer it to the Supreme Court for the purposes of checking its constitutionality.

In addition, the president convenes the meetings of the Council of Ministers and draws up their agenda, while maintaining the right of veto for council meetings as well, provided that they concern issues of external policy, security and defence of the Republic, as well as the right to refer them back to the aforementioned body.

Today, under the doctrine of necessity, the president appoints eleven ministers, who constitute the country's Cabinet, and with the exception of the powers reserved by the constitution explicitly for the president and vice president of the Republic, exercise the executive authority of the state.

Furthermore, the Constitution grants the president the power to unilaterally appoint independent state officials and Supreme Court judges.

There are two ways for the president of the Republic to be removed from office. In the first case, they must be convicted by the Supreme Court for high treason, following prosecution by the prosecutor general and the deputy prosecutor general, which has to be approved by a resolution of at least three-quarters of members of parliament. In the second case, they must be convicted of a dishonorable offense or an offense of moral turpitude, following prosecution by the prosecutor general and the deputy prosecutor general, which has to be approved by the president of the Supreme Court.

List

Key

§ Elected unopposed
† Died in office

No. Portrait Name
(Birth–Death)
Term Political Party Elected
Took office Left office Time in office
1
Makarios III
Archbishop
Makarios III
(1913–1977)
16 August 196015 July 1974
(deposed)
13 years, 333 daysIndependent1959
1968
1973[§]
Nikos Sampson
Nikos Sampson
(1935–2001)
15 July 197423 July 19748 days
(De facto, Acting)
Progressive Front
Glafcos Clerides
Glafcos Clerides
(1919–2013)
23 July 19747 December 1974137 days
(Acting)
Eniaion
(1)
Makarios III
Archbishop
Makarios III
(1913–1977)
7 December 1974
(restored)
3 August 1977 †2 years, 239 daysIndependent
2
Spyros Kyprianou
Spyros Kyprianou
(1932–2002)
3 August 197728 February 198810 years, 209 days
(Acting for first 209 days)
DIKO1978[§]
1983
3
George Vassiliou
George Vassiliou
(born 1931)
28 February 198828 February 19935 yearsIndependent1988
4
Glafcos Clerides
Glafcos Clerides
(1919–2013)
28 February 199328 February 200310 yearsDISY1993
1998
5
Tassos Papadopoulos
Tassos Papadopoulos
(1934–2008)
28 February 200328 February 20085 yearsDIKO2003
6
Demetris Christofias
Demetris Christofias
(1946–2019)
28 February 200828 February 20135 yearsAKEL2008
7
Nicos Anastasiades
Nicos Anastasiades
(born 1946)
28 February 201328 February 202310 yearsDISY2013
2018
8
Nikos Christodoulides
Nikos Christodoulides
(born 1973)
28 February 2023Incumbent318 daysIndependent2023

Timeline

Nikos ChristodoulidesNicos AnastasiadesDemetris ChristofiasTassos PapadopoulosGlafcos CleridesGeorge VasiliouSpyros KyprianouMakarios III

Latest election

CandidatePartyFirst roundSecond round
Votes%Votes%
Nikos ChristodoulidesIndependent[lower-alpha 2]127,30932.04204,86751.97
Andreas MavroyiannisIndependent[lower-alpha 3]117,55129.59189,33548.03
Averof NeofytouDemocratic Rally103,74826.11
Christos ChristouNational Popular Front23,9886.04
Achilleas DemetriadesIndependent[lower-alpha 4]8,1372.05
Constantinos ChristofidesNew Wave – The Other Cyprus6,3261.59
Georgios ColocassidesIndependent5,2871.33
Alexios SavvidesIndependent2,3950.60
Charalampos AristotelousIndependent8660.22
Celestina de PetroIndependent5750.14
Andronicos ZervidesIndependent3410.09
Ioulia Khovrina KomninouUnited Cyprus Republican Party3300.08
Andreas EfstratiouIndependent2990.08
Loukas StavrouNational Communitarian Reconstruction1650.04
Total397,317100.00394,202100.00
Valid votes397,31798.27394,20296.95
Invalid votes5,3331.328,4282.07
Blank votes1,6710.413,9860.98
Total votes404,321100.00406,616100.00
Registered voters/turnout561,27372.04561,27372.45
Source: Central Electoral Service, Central Electoral Service

Statistics

# President Date of birth Age at inauguration
(first term)
Time in office
(total)
Age at retirement
(last term)
Date of death Longevity
1 Makarios III 13 August 1913 47 years, 3 days 16 years, 211 days 63 years, 355 days 3 August 1977 63 years, 355 days
2 Spyros Kyprianou 28 October 1932 44 years, 310 days 10 years, 178 days 55 years, 123 days 12 March 2002 69 years, 135 days
3 Georgios Vassiliou 20 May 1931 56 years, 284 days 5 years, 0 days 61 years, 284 days Living 92 years, 237 days (Living)
4 Glafcos Clerides 24 April 1919 73 years, 310 days 10 years, 0 days 83 years, 310 days 15 November 2013 94 years, 205 days
5 Tassos Papadopoulos 7 January 1934 69 years, 52 days 5 years, 0 days 74 years, 52 days 12 December 2008 74 years, 340 days
6 Demetris Christofias 29 August 1946 61 years, 183 days 5 years, 0 days 66 years, 183 days 21 June 2019 72 years, 296 days
7 Nicos Anastasiades 27 September 1946 66 years, 154 days 10 years, 0 days 76 years, 154 days Living 77 years, 107 days (Living)
8 Nikos Christodoulides 6 December 1973 49 years, 85 days 318 days (Ongoing) Incumbent Living 50 years, 37 days (Living)

See also

Notes

    • Greek: Πρόεδρος της Κυπριακής Δημοκρατίας, romanized: Próedros tis Kypriakís Dimokratías
    • Turkish: Kıbrıs Cumhuriyeti Cumhurbaşkanı
  1. Supported by DIKO, EDEK, DIPA, Solidarity, Active Citizens – United Cypriot Hunters Movement and Animal Party Cyprus
  2. Supported by AKEL and Generation Change
  3. Supported by Famagusta for Cyprus

References

  1. "Γενικό Λογιστήριο της Δημοκρατίας".
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