Andreas Neocleous Evripidi (; 3 July 1939 – 1 October 2021) was a Greek-Cypriot lawyer and politician who served as member of the

House of Representatives of Cyprus The House of Representatives ( ; ) is the national unicameral legislature of the Cyprus, Republic of Cyprus. Members and three observers representing Armenians in Cyprus, Armenian, Catholic Church in Cyprus, Latin, and Maronite Cypriots are elect ...

Early life

Andreas Neocleous Evripidi was born on 3 July 1939 in Episkopi, Paphos. He earned a law degree from the

University of Athens The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA; , ''Ethnikó kai Kapodistriakó Panepistímio Athinón''), usually referred to simply as the University of Athens (UoA), is a public university in Athens, Greece, with various campuses alo ...

in 1964.

Career

Neocleous began practicing law in 1965, specialising in international investment and international corporate tax law. He was the founder and managing partner of Andreas Neocleous & Co LLC, which became the largest law firm in Cyprus. He participated in

EOKA The Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston (EOKA ; ) was a Greek Cypriot nationalist guerrilla organization that fought a campaign for the end of Cyprus#Cyprus under the British Empire, British rule in Cyprus, and for enosis, eventual union with K ...

's fight for the liberation of Cyprus from British rule, during which time he was arrested by British troops and imprisoned from 1956 to 1959. From 1970 to 1976, he served as a Member of Parliament for the United Party. In 1974, he participated in the Cypriot coup d'état and was appointed as agricultural minister. Neocleous held some honorary positions during his career such as honorary fellow of the Center for International Legal Studies, honorary consul of Japan in Cyprus, and honorary legal adviser to the British High Commissioner in Cyprus. In 2017, Neocleous' law firm Andreas Neocleous & Co was one of many found guilty of bribing a Cypriot deputy attorney general. Shortly thereafter, the firm changed its name to Elias Neocleous; it remains the largest law firm in Cyprus. Two years later, he purchased the ''

Cyprus Mail The ''Cyprus Mail'' is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. Established in 1945, it is published every day except Monday, and most of the local articles are available on its website. History With the demise of the '' ...

'', the primary English-language newspaper in Cyprus. The following day, all of the newspaper's articles about his former law firm's criminal activities were removed from the newspaper's website, for which Neocleous received much criticism.

Personal life

Neocleous and his wife, Lia, had two sons named Elias and Panayiotis. Both sons also became lawyers.

Death

On 1 October 2021, at the age of 82, Neocleous died from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

at New General Hospital in

Nicosia Nicosia, also known as Lefkosia and Lefkoşa, is the capital and largest city of Cyprus. It is the southeasternmost of all EU member states' capital cities. Nicosia has been continuously inhabited for over 5,500 years and has been the capi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neocleous, Andreas 1939 births 2021 deaths 20th-century Cypriot lawyers National and Kapodistrian University of Athens alumni Members of the House of Representatives (Cyprus) Cypriot people of the EOKA Law firm founders Greek Cypriots People from Paphos District Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Cyprus 21st-century Cypriot lawyers