Vassiliou, Georgios Vassos (1931– )

Greek-Cypriot politician and entrepreneur, president of Cyprus 1988–93. A self-made millionaire, he entered politics as an independent and in 1988 won the presidency, with Communist Party support. He subsequently, with United Nations help, tried to heal the rift between the Greek and Turkish communities, but was unsuccessful. In the February 1993 presidential elections he was narrowly defeated by Glafkos Clerides.