Andreas Christou is a political and social figure in the

Republic of Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the third lar ...

Early life

Christou was born in

Limassol Limassol, also known as Lemesos, is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the Limassol district. Limassol is the second-largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population of 195,139 and a district population o ...

in 1948. He graduated from Laniteion Gymnasium. He studied

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

in Moscow and was actively involved in the Cypriot Students and Youth Movement. He worked as a

mechanical engineer Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations o ...

and later on as a senior manager of a

-based Industrial Corporation.

Political career

In the first Municipal Elections, held in 1986, he was elected as a Municipal Councilor. He was also a member of th
Sewerage Board of Limassol-Amathus
and the Water Board of Limassol Christou was elected as a Member of

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

for

AKEL The Progressive Party of Working People (, , ΑΚΕΛ or AKEL; ) is a Marxist–LeninistHelena Smith, Cyprus gets ready for a communist 'takeover''The Guardian 2008 communist party in Cyprus. AKEL is one of the two major parties in Cyprus, and ...

, representing the District of Limassol three times. During his term as an MP, he was Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Institutions and Merit, Chairman of the Parliamentary Subcommittee on Temporary Civil Servants and a Member of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign and European Affairs. From 1991 to 2003, he was a Parliamentary Leader and a Member of the National Council. In 2003 he was appointed

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

, remaining in that post until September 2006. Andreas Christou was elected as the Mayor of Limassol in December 2006. Christou was actively involved in the social and cultural life of Limassol as member of committees and institutions, as well as participating in glee clubs as guitar player and serenade singer.

Personal

Christou married Kristian Argyridou and has a son and a grandson.

External links

References

1948 births Living people People from Limassol Greek Cypriot politicians Mayors of Limassol Ministers of interior of Cyprus {{Cyprus-politician-stub