George Paraskevaides (1916 – December 5, 2007) was a Cypriot philanthropist and businessman who focused on the construction business in Europe and the Middle East. Paraskevaides was one of the co-founders of

Joannou & Paraskevaides AVAX Group is one of the oldest and largest construction groups in Greece. It is mainly active in the field of constructions, concessions and real estate development, in Greece and international markets. AVAX Group has been listed on the Athens S ...

(ceased operations 2018) with fellow Cypriot, Stelios Ioannou.

Early life

Paraskevaides was born in

Athens, Greece Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, in 1916. His family moved to Cyprus when he was very young. He studied architecture at

Politecnico di Milano The Polytechnic University of Milan (, abbreviated as PoliMi) is a university in Milan, Italy. It is the largest technical university in the country, with about 40,000 enrolled students. The university offers undergraduate, graduate, and higher ...

in Milan, Italy.

Career

Paraskevaides joined forces with Stelios Ioannou following the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Together the two partners founded the

company, which is better known as J&P. Their company would eventually grow into a major international construction giant, with dozens of projects throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. J&P went bankrupt in 2018 and was forced into liquidation. He was also well known for his philanthropic work. He helped to build an

organ transplant Organ transplantation is a medical procedure in which an organ (anatomy), organ is removed from one body and placed in the body of a recipient, to replace a damaged or missing organ. The donor and recipient may be at the same location, or org ...

center in Nicosia, Cyprus. He also paid to send children for medical treatment in the United States. Paraskevaides received a number of awards and recognitions for his work in both business and philanthropy. He was inducted into the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

. He was also awarded the Saint Marcus Medal from the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

Death

George Paraskevaides died at the London Clinic in London on December 5, 2007, at the age of 91.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Paraskevaides, George 20th-century Cypriot businesspeople Cypriot philanthropists Members of the Order of the British Empire 1916 births 2007 deaths Polytechnic University of Milan alumni Fellows of King's College London 20th-century philanthropists Greek emigrants to Cyprus