Georgios Iacovou: Difference between revisions

Mr George Iacovou was appointed High Commissioner of the Republic Of Cyprus to the United Kingdom in October 2006. Mr Iacovou is well known both in Cyprus and internationally. In 1998 he reached the final round of the Cyprus Presidential elections and has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus for three terms. He is also known for his work on the rehabilitation of Greek Cypriot refugees and on persons of Greek origin living in the former Soviet Union.

Mr Iacovou served as Foreign Minister of Cyprus for two consecutive terms from September 1983 to 1988 and from 1988 to 1993 and for a third term from 2003 to June 2006, which makes him Cyprus' longest serving Foreign Minister. His first appointment to this office came just before the illegal and unilateral declaration of "independence" by the Turkish Cypriot leadership in 1983. Nevertheless, he successfully pursued the condemnation of this action in the United Nations Security Council through the adoption of SC Resolutions 541 and 550.

In 1987 Mr Iacovou, as Minister of Foreign Affairs, negotiated Cyprus’ Customs Union Agreement with the then European Economic Community (“EEC”) and in 1990 he submitted the application of Cyprus to join the EEC. In 2003 Mr Iacovou signed the Treaty of Accession of Cyprus to the European Union (“EU”).

In February 1998 Mr Iacovou ran as an independent candidate at the Presidential elections in Cyprus and his candidacy was supported by the political parties AKEL and DIKO. In the final round of the elections he lost by a narrow margin to the then incumbent President of the Republic, Mr Glafcos Clerides.

From 1993 to 1997, Mr Iacovou served as President and CEO of the National Foundation for the Reception and Resettlement of Repatriated Greeks. His programme for the integration of several hundred thousand persons of Greek origin returning to Greece from the former Soviet Union was met with great success. He masterminded operation Golden Fleece, the liberation of fifteen hundred men, women and children of Greek origin from the besieged city of Sokhumi in Abkhazia and later participated in a similar operation in the city of Groznyy in Chechnya. Mr Iacovou found several University Departments for the teaching of the Greek language in countries of the former Soviet Union.

From January 1979 until January 1983, Mr Iacovou served as Ambassador of Cyprus to the Federal Republic of Germany with parallel accreditation to Austria and Switzerland. On conclusion of his mission he returned to Cyprus to serve as Permanent Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

From April 1976 until January 1979, Mr Iacovou was appointed Head of the East Africa Section of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (“UNHCR”) in Geneva. Following the Turkish invasion of 1974, Mr Iacovou established and directed the ‘Service for the Relief and Rehabilitation of Displaced Persons’ on directions by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Cyprus. He later also established the ‘Service for the Reintegration of Displaced Persons’. Mr Iacovou's work for refugees has had an important impact on subsequent developments in Cyprus including the “economic miracle”, as it is universally acknowledged, in the Government-controlled areas. In this capacity Mr Iacovou became a close associate of Archbishop Makarios, the first President of the Republic of Cyprus. He also became one of the most articulate advocates of the rights of displaced persons in Cyprus, who form a core issue of the wider Cyprus problem. His work in the field has been nationally and internationally acknowledged and his exposure to these people’s problems influenced his subsequent career. He is considered one of the ablest administrators of Cyprus and is often referred to as the technocrat with the big heart.

In 1972 he returned to Cyprus from the United Kingdom and was appointed Director of the Cyprus Productivity Centre, where he introduced new management methods in industry and commerce and pioneered programmes for continuing education of business executives. He pioneered a post-graduate management course that has been running for over thirty years. He also turned his attention to the upgrading of skills of artisans and technicians in many fields. Concurrently, Mr Iacovou was Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Hotel and Catering Institute of Cyprus (“HCI”) and under his stewardship the HCI became internationally known and was acknowledged accordingly on the island.

In the United Kingdom, after his postgraduate studies, Mr Iacovou worked as a Senior Management Consultant at the international firm Price Waterhouse Associates in London from 1968 to 1972, gaining valuable experience in the fields of management and finance. From 1965 to 1968, Mr Iacovou held senior positions such as Principal Officer for Operational Research and later as Senior Finance Officer, at the Board of British Rail.

From 1960 until 1964 Mr Iacovou worked in the private sector in Cyprus. At the age of 24 he was entrusted with the management of an industrial enterprise, which set him on the course of becoming an industrial management expert.

From 1955 to 1960 Mr Iacovou was a student in the United Kingdom and was active in student politics and Greek Cypriot community affairs.

Mr Iacovou has been awarded many honours, distinctions and medals from a number of countries, universities and organizations amongst which are:

• The Grand Cross of Merit, with sash and star of the Federal Republic of Germany

• The Grand Cross of the Order of the Phoenix of the Hellenic Republic

• The Grand Star of the Order of Honour of the Republic of Austria

• The Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic of the Kingdom of Spain

• The Grand Cross of the Order of Honour of the Hellenic Republic

• The Grand Cross of the Order of Infant D. Enrique of the Republic of Portugal

• The Decoration of the Battalion of the Yugoslav Flag

• The Star of the Nile of the Arab Republic of Egypt

• Honorary member of the Order 'Xirka Gieh ir-Republica' of the Republic of Malta

• Knight of the Grand Cross of the Order of St Agatha of the Republic of San Marino

• The Decoration of the Cross of St. Mark of the Order of the Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa

• The Decoration of St. Catherine’s Monastery of Sinai.

• The Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy of the State University of Tbilisi, Georgia

• The Honorary Doctorate in Political Science of the Panteion University of Athens, Greece

• The Honorary Professorship of the State University of Donetsk, Ukraine

• Honorary citizen of the city of Shappes, Thrace, Greece

Mr Iacovou holds the following university titles:

• MA in International Relations, Boston University

• MA in Occupational Psychology, Birkbeck College, University of London

• MSc in Management, Imperial College, University of London

• BSc in Engineering, University of London

Mr George Iacovou was born in the village of Peristeronopigi, in 1938 and graduated with distinction from the Famagusta Gymnasium in 1955.

He is married to Jennifer, née Bradley, and has four grown up children.