Ezekias Papaioannou ( el, Εζεκίας Παπαϊωάννου; October 8, 1908 – April 10, 1988) was a

Greek Cypriot Greek Cypriots or Cypriot Greeks ( el, Ελληνοκύπριοι, Ellinokýprioi, tr, Kıbrıs Rumları) are the ethnic Greek population of Cyprus, forming the island's largest ethnolinguistic community. According to the 2011 census, 659,115 r ...

communist

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

and secretary general of the

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

political party of AKEL. He was born in the village of

Kellaki Kellaki ( gr, Κελλάκι) is a village in the Limassol District of Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in th ...

Limassol District Limassol District () or Lemesos ( el, Λεμεσός) is one of the six districts of Cyprus. , it had a population of 239,842, 77% of which was urban. Its main city is Limassol. Part of the British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia form ...

, and received his secondary education at the

American Academy of Larnaca The American Academy Larnaca is a non-profit private school in Larnaca, Cyprus offering pre-school to University entrance education. It is a selective, co-educational, independent school, registered under the Private Schools’ Law, 1971, of the ...

with financial help from his brother. In his last year of school because of health reasons he moved to Nicosia where he finished his studies in

The English School, Nicosia The English School is a selective secondary school in Nicosia, Cyprus. It has a rigorous selection process for admittance. It is one of the secondary schools in Nicosia designated to be bi-communal, with both Greek and Turkish Cypriots being educ ...

. He then worked as a miner in

Skouriotissa Skouriotissa ( gr, Σκουριώτισσα) is a village in the Nicosia District of Cyprus and the site of the former Cyprus Mines Corporation, Skourotissa mines. Today the area is largely uninhabited with only 8 people remaining in the village. ...

(Foukasa) and as a manual worker in

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saron ...

port. He moved to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in the early 1930s where he actively worked with the Communist Party of Great Britain against different fascist factions. During this time he was arrested and jailed for three months by the British authorities. During his time in Britain he became a founding member of the Association of Cypriot Affairs which sought the expulsion of the British from

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

. In 1936, he was part of a contingent of 60 Cypriot leftists who volunteered to fight in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

as part of the International Brigades. 15 of them died and Ezekias was injured and had to return to

had the biggest percentage of volunteers and dead per capita of any country fighting against Francisco Franco. After the war he lived in

and worked as a milkman. With the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Ezekias tried to enlist but he was refused because of his old injuries and a poor health. Not able to remain idle he joined the

air defence where he served until the end of the war. In 1945 he was asked by AKEL to return to Cyprus where he remained until the end of his life. After his return, he immediately got involved in local politics and in 1946 he became editor-in-chief of the newspaper ''Democratis'' and in 1949 3rd general secretary of the

Progressive Party of Working People The Progressive Party of Working People ( el, Ανορθωτικό Κόμμα Εργαζόμενου Λαού, ; abbr. , AKEL; tr, Emekçi Halkın İlerici Partisi) is a Marxist–LeninistHelena Smith, Cyprus gets ready for a communist 'takeove ...

(AKEL), a position he held for 40 years until his death. During the next few years he worked endlessly along with his party for the rights of workers and against

British colonialism The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts est ...

. The party was declared illegal by the British authorities in 1955 and Ezekias together with another 134 members were arrested and jailed. Soon after Ezekias escaped and continued the fight until Independence in 1959. Ezekias was against the

Zürich and London Agreement , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich ...

, claiming it was unworkable. He worked for the next two decades to prevent all tactics of the extreme right wing elements of the island and to foster better relations with the

Turkish Cypriots Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( tr, Kıbrıs Türkleri or ''Kıbrıslı Türkler''; el, Τουρκοκύπριοι, Tourkokýprioi) are ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,0 ...

. In 1960, following the independence of Cyprus from the British Empire, he was elected to parliament. Papaioannou was repeatedly re-elected and served as a member of Parliament for 28 consecutive years up until his death in 1988. In his will, he left all his assets to his party.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Papaioannou, Ezekias 1908 births 1988 deaths Leaders of political parties in Cyprus People of the Spanish Civil War Progressive Party of Working People politicians International Brigades personnel Leaders of the Progressive Party of Working People