Antonis Paschalides

Early life

He was born on 15 July 1952 in London, by Greek Cypriot parents, and moved to Cyprus at the age of 3. His family originates from the Famagusta District which is currently under Turkish occupation. He attended the Grammar School Nicosia from where he graduated in 1970 and after serving his obligatory military service in the Cyprus National Guard he left for London again where he studied law at the University of North London. In July 1974, during a summer vacation visit to Cyprus he was caught in the war (Turkish invasion of Cyprus) where as an officer in the reserves he defended the Nicosia Airport as well as the area of his own old school. At the end of the war, he returned to England to continue his studies and he later attended the Middle Temple Inn to become a Barrister-at-law. In 1980, after the birth of his first child, he returned to Cyprus with his French wife to begin his legal and political career.

Legal career

On his return to Cyprus, he trained under Barrister-at-law Andreas Dikigoropoulos and became a licensed member of the Cyprus Bar Association in 1980. While practicing law, he also taught law at the then I.M.C.S. Intercollege (now the University of Nicosia) for 16 year and was also an examiner for the ATT London Examinations and the Institute of Banking. Leaving the office of Dikigoropoulos he proceeded to co-found a new law firm, eventually named Elides – Paschalides & Co which operated for 27 years (1980–2007). On 1 October 2007, the partnership was terminated and he formed a new partnership under his own name, Antonis Paschalides & Co which runs until today despite his absence as a successful Cyprus law firm on both local and international matters. While still practicing he had been elected as a member of the Executive Committee of the Nicosia Bar Association for 15 years in a row.

Political career

He first became involved in politics in the UK where he was the first non-British to be elected as President of the Student Union of West Ham College. On his return to Cyprus after his studies he became actively involved in the National Committee of Support of the Enclaved and was one of the founding members of the Refugee Associations “Eleftheri Eniaia Karpassia” (Free United Karpasia) and “Eleftheroi Yialousites” (Free Yialousa people). Amongst others including the later President of the Republic of Cyprus Tassos Papadopoulos he co-founded the political party “Enosi Kentrou” which was later absorbed by DIKO of which he stayed a member until 2000. In 1988 he was appointed Member of the Air Transport Authority by the Council of Ministers (then under the Presidency of George Vassiliou) a position he held until February 1998. In 2000 after a disagreement on party policies he left to form a new political party “Komma Evrodimokratikis Ananeosis” which was later absorbed back into DIKO in 2003. He later became a member of the Central and the Executive Committees of DIKO, positions he still holds, and in February 2008, after the election of Demetris Christofias to the Presidency by the coalition of AKEL, DIKO and EDEK, he was appointed as Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism.

Policies

Antonis Paschalides is considered a very hands-on politician with important connections to the Middle East and ex Soviet countries. The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism is responsible for around 70% of the GNP of the Republic of Cyprus and other than Commerce, Industry and Tourism it is also responsible for Energy, Technology, the Cyprus Registrar of Companies and Coop Banking in Cyprus.

Energy in Cyprus

Antonis Paschalides vigorously sought to bring changes to the still oil based energy production of Cyprus and during his first 3 years as Minister responsible for Energy, the country saw huge changes which put it on the world energy map. a. He brought forward the issue of switching the energy production of Cyprus from oil to natural gas, a topic which had been in discussion for years but never actually dealt with. b. For years it was believed that the Cyprus sea was rich in the resources of oil and natural gas, but was never investigated. Antonis Paschalides proceeded to have the Cyprus sea bed tested and entered an agreement with Noble Energy for the exploitation of these resources. c. He is considered one of the masterminds behind the signing of an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) with Lebanon and Israel where in a visit in March 2011 he was welcomed as Mr. Energy and Mr. Gas. d. He encouraged and facilitated the building of a huge oil and natural gas depot on the coast of Cyprus from where the fuel will be distributed to the surrounding countries making Cyprus an important fuel route. e. While Cyprus was still a completely a virgin market for renewable energy (almost 0%), during his term the country saw a complete turnaround to the use of renewable energy sources which now make up around 9%, and fast growing, of the Country’s power needs.

Cyprus Tourism

The hugely UK dependant Cyprus tourism was badly hit by the continuing 2008 crisis with the lowest being an 11% decrease in tourism revenue. His 2 main policies on tourism were the diversification from the UK tourist market and the targeting of higher value tourists. For this he sought to enter several agreements with previously non-existent tourist markets for Cyprus such as China, Israel and the Arab countries while at the same time greatly improving Cyprus’ touristic product in terms of quality. During his term the coastal town of Limassol saw the beginning of the building of a luxurious marina whereas the marinas of Ayia Napa and Paphos were pushed to their final pre-development stages. At the same time 15 signature golf courses were licensed and/or built all over Cyprus. In Nicosia, the island’s capital an agreement was achieved with the Qatari government for an investment in a luxurious hotel complex estimated in the hundreds of millions. As a result, even though Cyprus has still not reached its pre 2008 numbers in tourists visiting, proceeds from the tourist industry have now increased with a spectacular increase in Russian tourists by 50% in 2010.

Cyprus Consumers' Rights

In the general public, Antonis Paschalides is better known for his “fight” against high prices in fuel and necessities. He has often sought the permission of the European Union to place a prix-plafond (maximum sale price) on several goods and even proceeded to implement such on several occasions where price manipulation against the consumers was detected, earning him the nickname of Mr. Plafond.

Brussels

Being responsible for a Ministry covering many aspects, he participates in the EU Council of Energy Ministers, the Competetitiveness EU Council of Ministers, the EU Council of Ministers on Tourism as well as the Euro Mediterranean Forum. He has throughout been a strong supporter of abolishing or at least relaxing procedures for the issuance of visas for Russian citizens. In March 2011, after the catastrophic earthquake in Japan and the issues of nuclear danger that it brought to light, Antonis Paschalides while speaking to the EU Council of Ministers raised the issue that not only EU members should reconsider and/or impose stricter criteria on the use of nuclear power but that such measures should also be imposed on EU neighboring countries, having in mind the building by Turkey of a nuclear plant in Akkuyu, an earthquake prone area just 60 km from the coast of Cyprus.

Family

Son of Charalambos Paschalides from Prastio and Kyriaki Tzourou from Yialousa; brother to Chris Paschalides, Androulla Loizidou, Paschalis Paschalides; husband to Marie-Helene (Tournier) Paschalidou; father to Charalambos Carlos Paschalides and Alexia Melanie Paschalidou.