The President of Cyprus is the head of state and the head of government of the Republic of Cyprus. The office was created in 1960, after Cyprus gained its independence from the United Kingdom. The current President of Cyprus is Nicos Anastasiades.
Tassos Papadopoulos
Tassos (Efstathios) Nikolaou Papadopoulos (; 7 January 1934 – 12 December 2008) was a Cypriot politician. He served as the fifth President of the Republic of Cyprus from February 28, 2003 to February 28, 2008.
Papadopoulos died on 12 December 2008 from a type of lung cancer in Nicosia, Cyprus, aged 74.
Glafcos Clerides
Glafcos Ioannou Clerides (; 24 April 1919 – 15 November 2013) was a Greek-Cypriot politician. He was the fourth President of Cyprus. He was the oldest living former President of the Republic of Cyprus.
Clerides was born on 24 April 1919 in Nicosia, Cyprus. He studied at the King's College London in London, England.
During World War II, he served in the British Royal Air Force. In 1942 his airplane was shot down over Germany and he was captured. He remained a prisoner of war until the end of the war. His name was mentioned in dispatches for distinguished services. Clerides was also one of the last European leaders who saw active service in World War II.
He was the acting President of Cyprus 7 December 1974, the day of the return of Archbishop Makarios, President of the Republic, who was forced to flee on 16 July 1974.
From 1961 to 1963 he held the position of President of the Cyprus Red Cross. In recognition of his outstanding services he was awarded a Certificate of Honour and Life Membership in recognition of distinguished services to the Red Cross.
In 1976 he founded the right wing Democratic Rally (Demokratikos Synagermos). He was a candidate for the presidency of Cyprus six times and elected to two five-year terms, in 1993 and in 1998. In 1998 his main opponent was Georgios Iakovou. He was defeated in the 2003 presidential election by Tassos Papadopoulos.
During his presidency, Clerides helped his country of Cyprus to become part of the European Union.
Clerides was the eldest son of lawyer and statesman Ioannis Clerides. Clerides was married to Lila-Irene. They have a daughter, Katherine, who is a member of the House of the Representatives for the Democratic Rally Party.
Clerides died on 15 November 2013 from unexplained causes in hospital in Nicosia, Cyprus. Before his death, Clerides suffered many health issues. He was 94 years old.
Ceolwulf I of Mercia
Ceolwulf I was the King of Mercia, East Anglia and Kent from 821 to 823. He succeeded his brother Coenwulf of Mercia. There was a great deal of disagreement among his noblemen during his short reign. He was deposed and exiled from Mercia by Beornwulf of Mercia who claimed the throne himself.
He was the son Cuthbert, a Mercian nobleman. His brother Coenwulf ruled Mercia before him. At his brother's death the Mercians were attacking Wales. Ceolwulf continued where Coenwulf left off. The "Annales Cambriae" for the year 822 said the 'Saxons' attacked and destroyed the fortress at Deganwy and then controlled Powys. Welsh poems of the time confirm Mercia was attacking Powys. On 17 September 822 he was consecrated king by Archbishop Wulfred. In issued by Ceolwulf he styled himself This shows he had authority in Kent. But his rule in Mercia was marked by among his noblemen. He was removed from the throne in 823. After being deposed Ceolwulf left Mercia for Rome. By this time he was older, probably in his fifties. He was the last of the Iclingas dynasty who had ruled Mercia for over three centuries. Beornwulf who replaced him was from a family little is known about.
Machine pistol
A machine pistol is a typically a -style firearm that can fire fully automatic or burst fire. Fully automatic means that the gun will continue to fire very rapidly so long as the trigger is pressed and held. Burst fire means that when you pull the trigger, a number of shots determined by the shooter will be fired (for some guns, this is three shots, fired very quickly). Machine pistols fire pistol cartridges. Machine pistols usually have the cartridges fed into the gun with a magazine, which is a rectangular box which holds the cartridges.
Machine pistols are usually self-loading, which means that the gun automatically loads a new cartridge into the chamber after a shot is fired.
The first true machine pistol was the German MP-18 introduced in 1918. It fired the 9mm Parabellum cartridge. It used a side-loading magazine that held 20 cartridges.
The Germans converted some pistols, like the Luger, into machine pistols. They invented a type of Luger called the Luger P08 in World War I to German artillery crews. It had a longer barrel and a 32 round magazine shaped like a round drum. It was given to artillery crews so they could defend themselves.
In 1951 the Russian army developed the Stechkin APS, which could fire in burst fire or in fully automatic fire. When the gun was used in burst or automatic fire, users were told to use the wooden stock so that they can control the weapon better. One of the problems with machine pistols is they tend to rise up when being fired, making the bullets miss their target.
In the 1990s and 2000s, as more soldier began wearing bulletproof vests with hard ceramic armor, the machine pistol became less useful in a military setting. The low-powered pistol ammunition was not able to penetrate ceramic-plated Kevlar military vests. As a result, armies began to issue a new gun, the personal defense weapon or PDW. The PDW fires armor-piercing, higher-powered ammunition which can go through bulletproof vests.
Vassos Lyssarides
Vassos Lyssarides (13 May 1920 – 26 April 2021) was a Cypriot politician. He was an important figure in Cyprus politics since the island's independence. In 1969, he founded EDEK, the first Socialist political party of Cyprus.
He was born on May 13, 1920 in the village of Lefkara. He was educated at the Pancyprian Gymnasium and then studied medicine at the University of Athens.
On 30 August 1974, an attempt was made against his life; during the attack, EDEK youth leader Doros Loizou was killed. Lyssarides was elected and served as President of the House of Representatives from 1985 to 1991.
Lyssarides died at his home in Nicosia, Cyprus on 26 April 2021, less than one month before his 101st birthday.
George Vasiliou
Georgios Vasos Vassiliou (; born May 20, 1931 in Famagusta, Cyprus) is an Cypriot politician. He was the third President of the Republic of Cyprus from 1988 to 1993. He was also the founder and leader of the Cypriot United Democrats party (EDI) and a highly successful businessman.
He elected as president of United Democrats and remained president until 2005. In the Parliamentary Elections of 2001 his party lost one of its seats and he wasn't re-elected. In 2004, he resigned from the presidency of United Democrats.
He has also served as Chief Negotiator for the accession of Cyprus to the European Union from 1998 to 2003.
Spyros Kyprianou
Spyros Achilleos Kyprianou (or Cyprianou) (; 28 October 1932 – 12 March 2002) was an Cypriot politician. He was one of the most important politicians of modern Cyprus. He served as the second President of the Republic of Cyprus from 1977 to 1988.
Spyros Kyprianou died on 12 March 2002 after a long fight with prostate cancer.
Makarios III
Makarios III (), born Michail Christodolou Mouskos (; August 13, 1913 – August 3, 1977), was the archbishop and primate of the autocephalous Cypriot Orthodox Church (1950–1977). He was the first President of the Republic of Cyprus (1960–1974 and 1974–1977). In his three terms as President of Cyprus (1959-1977), he survived four assassination attempts.
Makarios died from a heart attack on August 3, 1977 in Nicosia, Cyprus, aged 63.
Open Season
Open Season may refer to:
Salem, South Dakota