George Vassiliou (; 20 May 1931 – 13 January 2026) was a Cypriot politician and businessman who served as President of Cyprus from 1988 to 1993. He was also the president of United Democrats from 1996 to 2005 and sat in the Cypriot House of Representatives from 1996 to 2001.

As president, he oversaw a successful period of economic reform and growth, the search for a diplomatic solution to the Cyprus problem through the United Nations, as well as the country's application for membership of the European Union and the first adaptations to European monetary and economic standards.

Early life

Vassiliou was born on 20 May 1931 in Famagusta, British Cyprus, to a Greek Cypriot family. He was the son of Vasos Vassiliou, an ophthalmologist and left-wing figure, and Fofos Vassiliou, a dentist. He grew up in Greece until 1941, when the family returned to Cyprus due to the Nazi invasion of Greece. He fled Hungary following the Soviet invasion in 1956 and continued his studies at the University of London.

Before returning to Cyprus in 1962, he worked as an economist and market researcher for the Reed Paper Group in the United Kingdom in 1971 and worked for British academic bodies.

He worked on and promoted a negotiated solution to the Cyprus dispute, launching a national and international campaign and especially with negotiations within the United Nations framework. In a meeting with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in March 1988, Vassiliou expressed to her his opposition to the two-state solution and the maintenance of the British bases of Akrotiri and Dhekelia on the island. Vassiliou's government streamlined cumbersome civil service, established the University of Cyprus in 1992, cut taxes to prevent tax evasion, had illegal shacks on the Cypriot coast demolished, modernised public administration by introducing new technologies, introduced environmental protection measures and abolished the state monopoly in media, opening up the creation of private radio stations, such as Logos. He also expanded a network of press offices at Cypriot diplomatic missions to promote the Cyprus peace process. He was elected member of the House of Representatives in the 1996 legislative election. When the referendum failed, Vassiliou resigned as president of the United Democrats. He had to supervise Cyprus's adjustment to European law. In 2011, Vassiliou co-signed George Soros' open letter calling for more European unity amidst the currency turmoil surrounding the increased usage of the Euro as a single currency for the continent.

Personal life and death

Vassiliou had three children and was married to the politician Androulla Vassiliou from 1966.

Vassiliou died on 13 January 2026, at the age of 94, after being hospitalised for a respiratory infection. His funeral took place on 17 January at the Ayia Sofia cathedral in Nicosia. His coffin was transported on an artillery carriage and his arrival at the cathedral was greeted with a cannon salute.

Honours

Foreign honours

  • : Honorary Companion of Honour of the National Order of Merit (28 June 1991)
  • : Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit.