Sophocles Sophocleous (born 7 August 1962) is a Cypriot

Movement for Social Democracy The EDEK Socialist Party (, EDEK) is a Greek Cypriot nationalist, social-democratic political party in Cyprus. Overview The party was founded by Vassos Lyssarides in 1969 as the United Democratic Centre Union, EDEK (, ΕΔΕΚ). It was origin ...

politician. He sat as a

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

for

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 List of isl ...

between 2012 and 2014. He was the Cypriot Minister of Justice and Public Order from 2006 to 2008. Sophocleous is a law graduate of the

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki ( AUTh; ), often called the University of Thessaloniki, is the second oldest tertiary education institution in Greece. Named after the philosopher Aristotle, who was born in Stageira, about east of Thessa ...

. He was the mayor of

Pano Lefkara Pano Lefkara () is a village on the island of Cyprus famous for its lace, known as lefkaritika in (Greek: λευκαρίτικα) and silver handicrafts. The village takes its name from the white of its silica and limestone: Lefkara is derived fro ...

, his hometown, from 1992 to 2006, and he was the vice-president of the Movement for Social Democracy from 2000 to 2012. He was appointed Minister of Justice and Public Order in 2006, and he stayed in post until

Tassos Papadopoulos Efstathios "Tassos" Nikolaou Papadopoulos (; 7 January 1934 – 12 December 2008) was a Cypriot politician and barrister, who served as President of Cyprus from 2003 to 2008. An experienced member of the Makarios III’s cabinet, Papadopo ...

lost the Cypriot presidency at the 2008 presidential election. Sophocleous took the seat of Kyriakos Mavronikolas in the European Parliament following the latter's resignation in 2012.

Footnotes

1962 births Living people People from Larnaca District Ministers of justice and public order of Cyprus Movement for Social Democracy MEPs MEPs for Cyprus 2009–2014 Aristotle University of Thessaloniki alumni {{Cyprus-MEP-stub