US EditionGeorge Vassiliou, 'eternal optimist' president who led Cyprus into the EU, dies at 94
Vassiliou’s reforms doubled Cyprus’s GDP per capita and set the stage for EU accession, realized 13 years after his presidency, cementing his legacy as a modernizing leader.
- Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides praised Vassiliou as a leader who became synonymous with the country's economic prosperity, social progress and push toward modernization.
- When he became president in 1988, Vassiliou lifted hopes that a peace deal with the island's breakaway Turkish Cypriots was possible after more than a decade of off-again, on-again talks.
- Vassiliou succeeded on many other fronts, using his skills as a successful entrepreneur to modernize and expand his county's economy, even though he had been raised by parents who were pro-communist.
31 Articles
31 Articles
Georgios Vasiliu led Cyprus from 1988 to 1993.
He had been the main architect of his country's accession to the European Union and had worked, in vain, on the reunification of Cyprus. He died on 13 January at the age of 94.
Associated Press News
Former Cyprus President George Vassiliou, who put the country on the path to EU membership, has died
Former Cypriot President George Vassiliou, a successful businessman who helped to energize his divided island’s economy and set it on the road to European Union membership, has died.
Former Cypriot President George Vassiliou Passes Away at 94
His 1990 application for Cyprus to join the EEC remains a landmark achievement, shifting the nation’s security toward European integration. Credit: Public Domain George Vassiliou, the former President of the Republic of Cyprus, passed away at the Nicosia General Hospital at the age of 94. His wife, former EU Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou, announced his passing on X (formerly Twitter), stating: “After two years of hardship, my beloved George—m…
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