Nicosia – Nikos Christodoulides, 49, was elected last Sunday new President of Cyprus.

Christodoulides, a former foreign minister and government spokesperson, ran against career diplomat Andreas Mavroyiannis, a former chief negotiator in peace talks with Turkey and a former permanent representative of Cyprus to the United Nations.

In a runoff round, 204,680 (51,92%) of people voted for Christodoulides, while 189,522 (48,08%) voted for Mavroyiannis.

Christodoulides was backed by centre and right-of-centre parties (Diko, Depa, Edek, Solidarity) and Mavroyiannis by left-wing AKEL. Both said they ran as independents.

Christodoulides led polls from the very first day of his candidacy.

Α close associate of outgoing President Nicos Anastasiades, Christodoulides caused a split in the ruling conservative Disy party when he announced he would run against party leader Averof Neophytou, who was eliminated in the first round of the elections.

The 8th President of the Republic of Cyprus faces problems ranging from a deadlock in reunification talks to the Cyprus problem, labour disputes amid runaway inflation and a fallout from corruption scandals, as well as a spike in migration that authorities are unable to cope with.

Christodoulides has frequently been in the public eye in the past decade, with the persona of a young, energetic politician offering fresh ideas. He is married to is married to Philippa Karsera and has four daughters, Ioanna, Ekaterini, Despina-Maria, and Phoebe.

Outgoing Nicos Anastasiades has been in power since 2013, having been re-elected in 2018.