Stella Soulioti (
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
: Στέλλα Σουλιώτη) (13 February 1920 – 1 November 2012) was a
Cypriot attorney and politician.
Early life and education
She 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 ...
, the daughter of the lawyer Sir Panayiotis Cacoyannnis, and the sister of the film director
Michael Cacoyannis
Michalis Kakogiannis (; ; 11 June 1922 – 25 July 2011), usually credited as Michael Cacoyannis or Michael Yannis, was a Greek Cypriot filmmaker, theatre director, and playwright. He is best known for writing, directing, producing, and e ...
. Soulioti was the first Cypriot woman to join the
RAF during
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 ...
,
retiring with the rank of lieutenant. She received her education in Cyprus and in Egypt before being called to the bar as a member of
Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...
in 1950.
Career
She returned to Cyprus, practicing law in her birth city from 1952 until 1960.
In 1961 she took the helm of the
Red Cross
The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...
in Cyprus, leading the organization until 2004; at the time of the
Turkish invasion of 1974, she was responsible for coordinating thousands of volunteers, which gained her international recognition. She was a follower of
Archbishop Makarios, with whom she worked closely,
and in 1960 she was named Justice Minister of Cyprus, the first woman in the world to hold such a position. She remained in the post until 1970, serving as well as Minister of Health from 1964 to 1966; between 1971 and 1974 she was the island's first Commissioner of Law, and from 1984 to 1988 she served as attorney general, the first woman in the nation's history to hold the post.
From 1987 until 1991 she was a member of
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
's executive board. She held numerous other honorary posts in Cyprus throughout her career, and in 1982 and 1983 spent time as a visiting fellow at
Wolfson College, Cambridge
Wolfson College () is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The majority of students at the college are postgraduates. The college also admits "mature" undergraduates (aged 21 and above), with around ...
. She also helped establish scholarship programmes for Cypriot students to attend Cambridge for graduate studies.
Personal life
Soulioti married dr. Demetrios Souliotis in 1949. She died in Limassol, and was survived by her daughter Alexia. She is buried at Agios Nikolaos cemetery in Limassol.
Legacy
In 2020 she was commemorated by a stamp from the Cyprus post.
Publications
* Soulioti, Stella (1998). ''Brief history of intercommunal negotiations since 1974: Interim Report of the Committee on Turkish Affairs, 1949''. Nicosia.
* Soulioti, Stella (2006). ''Fettered independence: Cyprus, 1878-1964''. Minneapolis, Minn.: Modern Greek Studies, University of Minnesota.
References
1920 births
2012 deaths
Greek Cypriots
Cypriot women lawyers
Women government ministers of Cyprus
20th-century Cypriot lawyers
20th-century Cypriot women politicians
20th-century Cypriot politicians
Members of Gray's Inn
People from Limassol
Female justice ministers
Health ministers of Cyprus
Ministers of justice and public order of Cyprus
Attorneys-general of Cyprus
20th-century women lawyers
External links
Archive of Stella Soulioti in the University of Cyprus
{{Cyprus-politician-stub
Cypriot women writers
Cypriot writers
First women lawyers