Christofias, Demetris

Christofias, Demetris

(dĕmē`trēs krĭstôf`ēäs), 1946–, Cypriot political leader, president of Cyprus (2008–13). Christofias studied history in Moscow, earning his doctorate in 1974. A member of the AKEL (Communist) party, he has served as chairman of its youth organization (1977–87) and as secretary-general of the party (1988–2009). He was a member of the House of Representatives (1991–2007) and was president of that body from 2001 to 2007. Elected president of Cyprus in 2008 after a runoff, he revived unification talks with Turkish Cypriots but slow progress and subsequent nationalist victories (2009–10) in N Cyprus ended hopes of a resolution.