Glafcos Clerides

Glafkos Klerides
File:Pict-clerides.jpg
3rd President of the Republic of Cyprus
In office 28 February 1993  – 28 February 2003
Preceded by	George Vasiliou
Succeeded by	Tassos Papadopoulos
Personal details
Born	April 24, 1919 Nicosia
Died	N/A N/A
Nationality	Cypriot
Political party	Democratic Rally (Demokratikos Synagermos)

Glafkos Ioannou Clerides (Greek: Γλαύκος Ιωάννου Κληρίδης) (b. 24 April 1919) is a Greek-Cypriot politician and former president of the Republic of Cyprus.

Clerides was the eldest son of the lawyer and stateman Yiannis Clerides.

During World War II, he served in the British Royal Air Force. In 1942 his airplane was shot down over Germany and he was captured. He remained a prisoner of war until the end of the war. His name was mentioned in dispatches for distinguished services.

Following the war, he studied law at King's College London and later practiced law in Cyprus. He was a member of the EOKA organization that sought the liberation of Cyprus from British Rule and participated in the struggle under the pseudonym ``Yperides." During that period he defended numerous EOKA fighters arrested by the British. One of his most famous accomplishments was a preparation of a dossier that enumerated and provided evidence of instances of Human Rights violations by the Imperial administration of Cyprus and its agents.

He participated in the 1959 London Conference on Cyprus and during the transitional period, from colonial administration to independence (1959-1960), he served as Minister of Justice. During the same period he was Head of the Greek Cypriot delegation in the Joint Constitutional Committee. In July 1960 he was elected to the House of Representatives which, in turn, elected him as its first President. He held this position until July 1976. In the first presidential elections Clerides backed Makarios III, the other candidate being his father Ioannis Clerides

After Cyprus became independent in 1960, Clerides gained political power as a member of the United Democratic Party. On 23 July 1974, in the tragic circumstances created by the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, he temporarily assumed the duties of the President of the Republic, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Constitution. He exercised these duties until the 7th of December 1974, the day of the return of Archbishop Makarios, President of the Republic, who was forced to flee on 16 July 1974 on account of the coup. Both President Makarios and the House of Representatives thanked Glafcos Clerides publicly for the task he performed during that period. Critics, especially from EDEK refer to that period as the post-coup, implying that democracy was not fully restored until the return of Makarios. Clerides on the other hand has repeatedly condemned what he called "violence and counter ciolence" that lead to the coup, i.e EOKA B and "efedriko", a pro Makarios paramilitary group.

From 1961 to 1963 he held the position of President of the Cyprus Red Cross. In recognition of his outstanding services he was awarded a Certificate of Honour and Life Membership in recognition of distinguished services to the Red Cross.

Later, as a member of the conservative Democratic Rally (Demokratikos Synagermos), he served as President for 10 years between 1993 and 2003. He was elected to two five-year terms, in 1993 and in 1998. In 1998 his main opponent was Georgios Iakovou. He was defeated in the Presidential elections of 2003 by Tassos Papadopoulos.

He is the author of the autobiographical overtoned depiction of the 20th century Cypriot History, ``My Deposition," of four volumes.

During his presidency Cyprus prosperred significantly. Its stabilised economy made Cyprus the wealthiest of the ten inductees to the European Union in 2004. The Clerides administration is heavily credited with the ascension to the European Union. Clerides, with his suave Churchillian persona, was respected by world leaders at the time of his presidency, and locally he was a popular leader because of his accomplishments. He lost some of this popularity due to his strong support of the widely unpopular Annan Plan for the unification of Cyprus, that came to be defeated by the Greek Cypriots in the 2004 referendum when the overwhelming Greek Cypriot majority voted against it.

He is married to Lila-Irene and has a daughter Katherine, who also served as an MP.