LATE PRESIDENT OF CYPRUS TASSOS PAPADOPOULOS

That this House joins the people of Cyprus, his wife Fotini, his family, friends and colleagues in mourning the passing of the former President of the Republic of Cyprus, Tassos Papadopoulos, who died on 12 December 2008, of lung cancer; recalls that he served as the Fifth President of the Republic of Cyprus from February 2003 to February 2008, during which time he oversaw Cyprus' entry to the European Union on 1 May 2004 and on 1 January 2008 the adoption of the euro currency; recalls also his long public service from being Makarios' first Interior Minister, through his leadership of the DIKO party, and his successful legal practice; agrees with President of the Republic Demetris Christofias that he was a politician with depth and was widely respected by Cypriot society which respects patriots who conscientiously serve it; and recognises a leader who never wavered from taking a stand against prevailing public and political opinion if he believed it served the island's best interests, and who always defended the creation of the Cyprus Republic as an achievement of both Greek and Turkish Cypriots after Britain's colonial rule.