Conservative Nicos Anastasiades, elected for a second term as president of Cyprus Sunday, has steered the island out of an economic crisis but failed to clinch a deal to reunify his divided homeland.
The former lawyer, 71, appeared to come closer than ever to reaching a historic agreement to end the nearly 44-year partition between the Greek-majority Republic of Cyprus in the south and a Turkish-backed statelet in the north.
But last July, two years of painstaking UN-backed negotiations with his Turkish Cypriot counterpart Mustafa Akinci collapsed in acrimony, dismaying an expectant international community.
The failure to overcome major obstacles, including the future of some 40,000 Turkish troops in the north, was a blow for a veteran operator who touts his contacts with world leaders.
Now the married father-of-two is pledging a new push for peace but there are serious doubts over whether the will remains to reach a deal.
Although he failed to achieve a breakthrough on reunification, Anastasiades won plaudits during his first term as president for steadying an economy that was in the midst of a dramatic meltdown when he took over in 2013.
- Crash and recovery -
Anastasiades beat leftist challenger Stavros Malas to win a second round run-off on Sunday with 55.99 percent of the vote following a campaign portraying the incumbent as a steady pair of hands.
Early in his term, he agreed to a tough 10 billion euro ($12 billion) bailout plan from the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund.
The 2013 rescue package entailed harsh austerity measures, including a haircut on deposits of more than 100,000 euros at the country's biggest bank.
Since then the economic rebound in the European Union's most easterly member has been faster than many expected.
Growth has been steady for several years and in 2016 the country successfully exited its bailout programme.
Tourist numbers have reached record highs and Anastasiades has pushed ahead with exploring for oil and gas off the island's shores.
But major challenges remain, with unemployment at 11 percent and the banks awash with bad loans.
During his tenure, the pro-European president has played a balancing act as tensions have soared between the West and Russia, a long-time Cyprus ally.
In 2014 US Vice President Joe Biden visited the island to push for reunification, and Anastasiades last year visited the Kremlin to meet Russian strongman Vladimir Putin.
Cyprus has deep economic and political ties with Russia and is still paying off a 2.5 billion euro loan from Moscow.
But despite some objections -- and suspicions that Cyprus may not toe the line -- Anastasiades has continued to vote for EU sanctions against Moscow over its meddling in Ukraine.
He has also put Cyprus at the forefront of the continental bloc's plans to bolster its defences.
- Political insider -
Anastasiades' rise to the presidency marked the culmination of a long career during which he carved out a reputation as something of a bruiser in his tiny island's insular political scene.
A founder of the right-wing Disy party which he led from 1997 to 2013, Anastasiades came up through the ranks and was first elected to parliament as representative for his hometown of Limassol in 1981.
His firm and sometimes ruthless control of Disy, where open dissent was rare, ensured that any young pretender was swiftly sidelined. He was given the nickname "tassaki" (ashtray) after having reportedly hurled one at dissenters.
His standing was tarnished when he supported a United Nations peace plan for the divided island that the Greek Cypriots later overwhelmingly rejected in a 2004 referendum.
But ever the pragmatist, Anastasiades managed to keep a firm grip on his party despite some defections, and later distanced himself from the plan.
Conservative Nicos Anastasiades, elected for a second term as president of Cyprus Sunday, has steered the island out of an economic crisis but failed to clinch a deal to reunify his divided homeland.
The former lawyer, 71, appeared to come closer than ever to reaching a historic agreement to end the nearly 44-year partition between the Greek-majority Republic of Cyprus in the south and a Turkish-backed statelet in the north.
But last July, two years of painstaking UN-backed negotiations with his Turkish Cypriot counterpart Mustafa Akinci collapsed in acrimony, dismaying an expectant international community.
The failure to overcome major obstacles, including the future of some 40,000 Turkish troops in the north, was a blow for a veteran operator who touts his contacts with world leaders.
Now the married father-of-two is pledging a new push for peace but there are serious doubts over whether the will remains to reach a deal.
Although he failed to achieve a breakthrough on reunification, Anastasiades won plaudits during his first term as president for steadying an economy that was in the midst of a dramatic meltdown when he took over in 2013.
– Crash and recovery –
Anastasiades beat leftist challenger Stavros Malas to win a second round run-off on Sunday with 55.99 percent of the vote following a campaign portraying the incumbent as a steady pair of hands.
Early in his term, he agreed to a tough 10 billion euro ($12 billion) bailout plan from the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund.
The 2013 rescue package entailed harsh austerity measures, including a haircut on deposits of more than 100,000 euros at the country’s biggest bank.
Since then the economic rebound in the European Union’s most easterly member has been faster than many expected.
Growth has been steady for several years and in 2016 the country successfully exited its bailout programme.
Tourist numbers have reached record highs and Anastasiades has pushed ahead with exploring for oil and gas off the island’s shores.
But major challenges remain, with unemployment at 11 percent and the banks awash with bad loans.
During his tenure, the pro-European president has played a balancing act as tensions have soared between the West and Russia, a long-time Cyprus ally.
In 2014 US Vice President Joe Biden visited the island to push for reunification, and Anastasiades last year visited the Kremlin to meet Russian strongman Vladimir Putin.
Cyprus has deep economic and political ties with Russia and is still paying off a 2.5 billion euro loan from Moscow.
But despite some objections — and suspicions that Cyprus may not toe the line — Anastasiades has continued to vote for EU sanctions against Moscow over its meddling in Ukraine.
He has also put Cyprus at the forefront of the continental bloc’s plans to bolster its defences.
– Political insider –
Anastasiades’ rise to the presidency marked the culmination of a long career during which he carved out a reputation as something of a bruiser in his tiny island’s insular political scene.
A founder of the right-wing Disy party which he led from 1997 to 2013, Anastasiades came up through the ranks and was first elected to parliament as representative for his hometown of Limassol in 1981.
His firm and sometimes ruthless control of Disy, where open dissent was rare, ensured that any young pretender was swiftly sidelined. He was given the nickname “tassaki” (ashtray) after having reportedly hurled one at dissenters.
His standing was tarnished when he supported a United Nations peace plan for the divided island that the Greek Cypriots later overwhelmingly rejected in a 2004 referendum.
But ever the pragmatist, Anastasiades managed to keep a firm grip on his party despite some defections, and later distanced himself from the plan.
