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 DEMETRIS CHRISTOFIAS is the
first of five children of a progressive working
family. He has 4 younger sisters. He was born in
the village of Kato Dhikomo, Kyrenia District,
Cyprus on 29th August 1946. His father, who died
in 1987, was a progressive builder, member of the
Pancyprian Labour Federation (PEO).
During his
secondary-school education at Nicosia Commercial
Lyceum, from where he graduated in 1964, he used
to work during his summer holidays with his
father and thus from an early age he got
acquainted with the hardships of the working
class.
At the age of 14, he
joined the progressive secondary-school
students%26rsquo; organisation PEOM and at the
age of 18 he joined EDON (Youth Organisation),
PEO Trade Unions and AKEL (the Progressive Party
of the Working People of Cyprus).
Demetris Christofias
studied at the Institute of Social Sciences and
the Academy of Social Sciences in Moscow from
1969 to 1974 and he got the Diploma and degree of
Doctor of Philosophy in History
(Ph.D.History).
In 1974 he was
elected to the post of the Central Organising
Secretary of EDON and in 1977 of General
Secretary. At this post he served till
1987.
In 1976 he was
elected member of the Nicosia-Kyrenia District
Committee of AKEL, and in 1982 – at the
15th Congress of AKEL – he was elected
member of the Central Committee of the
Party.
In July 1986 he was
elected alternate member of the Political Bureau
of the C.C. of AKEL. After the 16th Congress of
AKEL, held in November 1986, he was elected full
member of the P.B. of C.C. AKEL and in 1987
(after terminating his service as General
Secretary of EDON) he was elected member of the
Secretariat of C.C. AKEL. In April 1988, he was
elected General Secretary of the C.C. AKEL, a
post he still holds.
Demetris Christofias
was elected Member of the House of
Representatives for the first time in 1991
(Kyrenia District) and was re-elected in the
subsequent Parliamentary Elections of 1996 and
2001. On the 7th of June 2001 he is elected
President of the House of Representatives. In his
function of General Secretary of the C.C. AKEL
and President of the House of Representatives, he
is a Member of the National Council, a supreme
advisory body to the President of the
Republic.
In June 2001, he was
elected President of the House of
Representatives.
Demetris Christofias
is married to Elsie (Chiratou) Christofias (1972)
and they have three children – two
daughters, Marianna and Christina, and a son,
Christos. |
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