Dimitris Christofias, the former Cypriot president who died last Friday at the age of 72, is to be buried on Tuesday at 5 PM with full state honors at Strovolos Cemetery in Nicosia, it was revealed on Monday.
The funeral will be attended by several Cypriot and Greek dignitaries, including Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.
The Cypriot government declared four days of national mourning for the late statesman on Saturday.
Christofias, who served as president from 2008 to 2013, had been in critical condition since being admitted to Nicosia General Hospital in May.
As Cyprus’ first communist president, Christofias’ tenure was marked by turbulence. Major issues he was forced to deal with included a financial crisis, an uproar over a fatal munitions blast and his failure to broker a peace deal for the divided nation.
Akel, Cyprus’ communist party, on Monday opened a book of condolences at the party’s head offices in all districts to mark the passing of its former party leader, inviting mourners to write messages of condolence.
The party’s general secretary, Andros Kyprianou, signed the book first, followed by other senior members of the party.
Kyprianou wrote in his message: “Cyprus lost a great patriot. Demetris Christofias earned the trust of the workers and Akel in the best possible way. Honest consistent and sincere.
“He spent the years of his journey working with the consciousness of representing that part of the society that wants clean leaders. He spent decades in his political life with… clean hands and a pure heart.”
The Akel general secretary also stated in his written remarks that Christofias had fought for decades for the good of Cyprus and its people, “for the vindication of Cyprus and its people, for the reunification of our country.”
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