Minos Xenophon "Minas" Kyriakou (, ; 31 May 1942 – 2 July 2017) was a Greek media and shipping magnate and businessman. He was the president of the Hellenic Olympic Committee and was the President of the International Olympic Academy (IOA, 2004-2009). He was elected to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) council in August 2003.

Early life

Minos Kyriakou is the son of Xenophon Kyriacou and Athina Revidies. He was educated in France, Switzerland and at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in the US, from where he has a bachelor's degree.

Career

Kyriakou was the founder and owner of ANT1 Group, a media company which owns most notably

ANT1 Antenna, better known as ANT1, is a free-to-air television network airing in Greece. The alternate spelling is wordplay in Greek; ''ena'' (ένα) is the Greek number ''1'' (one), thus ''ANT1'' is pronounced the same as ''Antenna'' (Αντένν ...

, one of the oldest and one of the first private television channels in Greece. He also owned the Greek multi-sports club Panellinios GS, and the

Greek Basket League The Greek Basketball League (GBL), and also known as the Stoiximan Greek Basketball League (GBL) for sponsorship reasons, is the Greek basketball league system, first tier level professional basketball league in Greece. It is run by the ...

club Panellinios. Kyriakou's links to the sporting world saw him later become president of the Greek Olympic Committee after Athens hosted the Olympic Games of 2004. He continued as president before stepping down in 2009.

Problems with the law

Kyriakou owned four acres of land in

Athens 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 ...

that are in violation of Areos Park, as some of the Panellinios Athens complexes are illegally on the premises of the Athens Municipality and the Athens Prefecture. In February 2007, a penalty of 48 months imprisonment without suspension, and a fine of €15,000

euros The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

was placed on Kyriakou for the arbitrary construction of a cottage property in San Aimilianos in Porto Heli. Namely, the construction of a harbor that was in violation of not only the winter tide, but also the future expansion of the coastline. As a result of this, Kyriakou appealed the ruling of the court and he was then asked to pay a fee of €100,000 in financial security costs until the appeal trial could be held.

Personal life

In December 2004, Kyriakou married the Greek actress Mari Konstantatou (b. 1971). They announced their divorce in March 2017. He had two sons,

Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; ; 355/354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian. At the age of 30, he was elected as one of the leaders of the retreating Ancient Greek mercenaries, Greek mercenaries, the Ten Thousand, who had been ...

and Theodore, and a daughter, Athina, from his first marriage. He spoke Greek, English, French, Italian, Spanish, Polish, and Russian. He was awarded the Golden Cross of the Legion of Honor – Republic of Poland, Golden Cross of the order of St. George, Golden Medal of Honor – Republic of Cyprus, Golden Star of Honor – Singapore Republic, Grand Cross of the Order of the Legion of Honor – Republic of Poland. Kyriakou died of a heart attack on 2 July 2017, at the Athens Medical Center. He was twice divorced and was survived by his three children from his first marriage.

References

External links

Antenna Group's Official Site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kyriakou, Minos 1942 births 2017 deaths Panellinios Greek billionaires Greek businesspeople in shipping ANT1 Group People from Poros