Glafcos Clerides, former Cypriot statesman, dies at age 94
Glafcos Clerides, who served back-to-back terms as president of Cyprus between 1993 and 2003, died on Friday at the age of 94.
Clerides, a World War II veteran who served in Britain’s Royal Air Force, was admitted to the Evangelistria clinic in Nicosia on Wednesday, when doctors said his poor condition was “irreversible.”
Clerides, born in Nicosia on April 24, 1919, was a member of the EOKA organization that sought the liberation of Cyprus from British rule and participated in the struggle under the pseudonym “Ypereides.”
He founded the ruling right-wing DISY party, which currently governs Cyprus, in 1976 and was seen as instrumental in guiding Cyprus toward accession to the European Union in 2004.
