Nikos Christodoulides has been assigned the duties of Government Spokesman, following Monday`s announcement by Christos Stylianides to step down to run for the European Parliament in May’s elections.
The Presidential Palace announced that President of the Republic, Nicos Anastasiades, decided that, at the present time, he will assign the exercise of the duties of Government Spokesman to the Director of his Diplomatic Office Nikos Christodoulides, following the resignation of Christos Stylianides from the post of Government Spokesman.

Christodoulides will concurrently continue to exercise the duties of Director of the Diplomatic Office of the President of the Republic.
In a written statement by President Anastasiades praised Stylianides` contribution, noting that “despite losing a tireless and absolutely competent associate, I understand his wish to continue his political career in Europe which is his natural arena and his firm orientation over the years”.

He said that the dependability and sound judgment of Stylianides is exemplary while his political conduct and ethos are those elements that Cyprus needs today. “Together with Christos and my other close associates we managed the difficult period of saving the country from bankruptcy up until the time of the normalization and stabilization of the situation. In these difficult times, I confirmed the correctness of my choice”.
President Anastasiades thanked him for his “important contribution to the effective handling of the hazards of the crisis, the recovery of the country’s credibility in the European and international arena, as well as for his effective contribution in the formulation of a new negotiating framework on the Cyprus problem, and generally, of course, in the broader formulation and promotion of the work of the government in the first 14 months of our governance”.

In his remarks, Stylianides said his decision is based on his strong conviction “that during the next crucial period the future of Cyprus will be confronted equally seriously both here in our homeland as well as in Brussels.”
He added that the contribution of the Government of President Nicos Anastasiades to the restoration of Cyprus’ trustworthiness and esteem in Europe and internationally has been decisive.
Stylianides pointed out that “while President Anastasiades and the Government used authority and political capital to stabilise the economy, at the same time they did not neglect the Cyprus problem. By securing, after a tough negotiation, the issuing of a joint communique, the preconditions for the commencement of a substantive dialogue with a prospect for the solution of the Cyprus problem are satisfied.

“In spite of these, maintaining credibility and monitoring developments at the heart of Europe continues to be of great importance primarily for the Cyprus problem but also with regard to economic development”.
He added that his close collaboration with President Anastasiades “was for me a lesson in policy making and policy management, confirming in practice his conviction that Nicos Anastasiades is a decisive leader. “
Spokesman Christodoulides was born in Yeroskipou, in the district of Pafos, in 1973 and studied Political Science, Economics, Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies at Queens College of the City University of New York and subsequently pursued graduate studies in Political Science at New York University. In 2003 he was awarded a Ph.D. degree from the Department of Political Science and Public Administration of the University of Athens.
He taught at the Department of History and Archaeology of the University of Cyprus as a Specialist Scholar on the subject of “History of the Postwar World.” He is the author of books on the Cyprus issue as well as a series of scholarly articles on the subject of the contemporary Cypriot foreign policy and history.

He has been a member of the Diplomatic Service of the Republic of Cyprus since 1999 and has served as Consul General in London, as Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus in Athens, and as Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Cyprus to the European Union. He also served as Director of the Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and as Director of the Office of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
During the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the European Union he was assigned the duties of the Presidency Spokesman in Brussels.