E-Book Overview
When George Vassiliou was elected President in 1988, it was a surprise to many people in the international community, both within Cyprus and abroad. Not affiliated to any political party, despite his family’s role in the creation and development of AKEL, Cyprus’s left-wing movement, Vassiliou was in many ways an outsider. But this position outside party politics proved to be an advantage, giving him a unique perspective on the international situation and allowing him to focus on his ultimate goal: a solution to the Cyprus issue. From the President’s Office offers a full and comprehensive summary of the achievements of Vassiliou’s time in office alongside a frank critique of their limitations. It offers a personal and unique account of a crucial period in Cyprus’s recent history by one of the leading players in Cypriot politics. It will be an invaluable resource for students of International Relations and Conflict Resolution as well as anyone wishing to understand the politics of Cyprus today.
E-Book Content
00-Presidents Office_i-x
26/11/09
15:47
Page i
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 George Vassiliou was President of the Republic of Cyprus from 1988 to 1993. He 8 was the founder and leader of the Cypriot United Democrats party (EDI) and served 9 as a member of the Cypriot Parliament. He also served as Chief Negotiator for the 10 accession of Cyprus to the European Union from 1998 to 2003. His political 11 memoirs have previously been published in two volumes in Greek and he is also the 12 editor of The Accession Story: The EU from 15 to 25 Countries. 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42
00-Presidents Office_i-x
26/11/09
15:47
Page ii
00-Presidents Office_i-x
26/11/09
15:47
Page iii
From the President’s Office A Journey Towards Reconciliation in a Divided Cyprus
George Vassiliou
11 22 33 44 55 66 77 88 99 10 10 11 11 12 12 13 13 14 14 15 15 16 16 17 17 18 18 19 19 20 20 21 21 22 22 23 23 24 24 25 25 26 26 27 27 28 28 29 29 30 30 31 31 32 32 33 33 34 34 35 35 36 36 37 37 38 38 39 39 40 40 41 42
00-Presidents Office_i-x
26/11/09
15:47
Page iv
Published in 2010 by I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd 6 Salem Road, London W2 4BU 175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010 www.ibtauris.com Distributed in the United States and Canada Exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010 Copyright © 2010 George Vassiliou The right of George Vassiliou to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. This book, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Every effort has been made to contact the owners of copyright material. Should copyright material appear in the book without acknowledgement, the author and publishers would be delighted to make good the omission, and provide full and proper acknowledgement of the provenance of such material, in all future printings and editions of the work. ISBN: 978 1 84885 411 6 A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library A full CIP record is available from the Library of Congress Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: available Designed and Typeset by 4word Ltd, Bristol, UK Printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham
00-Presidents Office_i-x
26/11/09
15:47
Page v
Contents
List of Appendices
vii
Preface
ix
Introduction
1
CHAPTER oNE