Demetris Christofias

Demetris Christofias, also spelled Dimitris Christofias , is a former Cypriot politician who was the sixth President of Cyprus from 2008 to 2013. Christofias was the General Secretary of AKEL, the Communist Party of Cyprus, and was the European Unions 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 has also supported the closure of the British military bases on Cyprus.

Demetris Christofias was born in Dhikomo in the Kyrenia District of Cyprus, in the area that has been under military occupation by Turkey since 1974. He received his secondaryschool education at Nicosia Commercial Lyceum, from which he graduated in 1964. At the age of 14, he joined the progressive secondaryschool students organisation, PEOM, and at the age of 18, he joined EDON , PEO Trade Unions, and AKEL. In 1969, at the 5th Congress of EDON, he was elected member of the Central Council.

Source: Wikipedia