Travelling widely during his five years as president from 1988 to 1993, George Vassiliou galvanised international interest in helping to resolve the Cyprus problem. His commitment to a settlement highlighted the obduracy of the veteran Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktash.
Vassiliou’s goal, however, was a reunited island rather than point-scoring.
Akel, the communist party, chose him as its candidate for the 1988 presidential elections, although he ran as independent, declaring
