Nikos Christodoulides elected as the new president of Cyprus

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Former Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides was elected President of Cyprus on 13 February after a second and final round of voting.

An overview of the news

• Christodoulides, 49, won 51.9% of the vote, while his opponent Andreas Mavroyanis, 66, took 48.1%.

• More than 72.4 percent of people voted in Cyprus this time, which is higher than before.

• He was appointed Government Spokesperson in 2014 and Foreign Minister in 2018.

• Christodoulides is supported by the Democratic Party, the Movement for Social Democracy and the Democratic Alignment.

• Cyprus was divided in 1974, when Turkish forces occupied the northern part in response to a Greek-sponsored coup d'état.

• Since then the current issue between Cyprus and Turkey is the ongoing dispute between the Greek Cypriots in the south and the Turkish Cypriots in the north.

Republic of Cyprus 

• It is an island European country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

• It gained its Independence from Britain in 1960. 

• The country has a majority population which are of Greece descent while the minority population are of Turkish origin.

• Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974 and created a Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in 1983. 

• Except Turkey no country recognises Turkish Cyprus. 

• India also recognises the Cyprus government.

• Capital: Nicosia 

• Currency: Euro 

• President: Nikos Christodoulides