Nikos Sampson

Nikos Sampson
Nikos Sampson
De facto President of the Republic of Cyprus
In office 15 July 1974 – 23 July 1974
Preceded by	Makarios III
Succeeded by	Glafcos Clerides (acting)
Personal details
Born	16 December 1935 Famagusta, Cyprus
Died	9 May 2001 (aged 65) Nicosia, Cyprus
Political party	Progressive Party (1969–1970) Progressive Front (1970–1974)
Religion	Greek Orthodox

Nikos Sampson (Greek: Νίκος Σαμψών; 16 December 1935 – 9 May 2001) was the de facto president of Cyprus who succeeded Archbishop Makarios, appointed as President of Cyprus by the Greek military leaders of the coup d'état against Makarios, on July 15 1974. Sampson was a journalist and a member of EOKA, which rose against the British colonial administration, seeking Enosis (Union) of the island of Cyprus with Greece. He was eventually arrested, and sentenced to death, but was imprisoned in Britain after the sentence was commuted, returning after Cyprus gained independence.

Upon his return upon the formation of the Republic of Cyprus, he entered politics, becoming a member of Parliament. Following the coup of 1974 by the Greek Junta, he was appointed President by the leaders of the coup Kombokis and Georgitsis as a solution of necessity because nobody else accepted, and remained in the position for eight days. Following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus on 20 July he resigned. He was later sentenced to twenty years in prison for abuse of power, the only person convicted vis-à-vis the coup, maintaining there had been a setup and cover up. Three years into his sentence, he was allowed to go to France on medical grounds, and subsequently settled in France. He returned to Cyprus in 1990 to resume his sentence, and was pardoned for the remainder of his sentence in 1993. Following his release, he went into the newspaper publishing business. He died of cancer in 2001.

Sampson was born in the Cypriot port city of Famagusta to Sampson Georgiadis and Theano Liasidou. During his teenage years, he was a footballer, playing as a right back in the Anorthosis Famagusta second team. He began his working life at a Cyprus newspaper, the The Cyprus Times, which was owned and edited by Charles Foley. His original name was Nikos Georgiadis, but he adopted his father's forename as his surname.

...
Wikipedia