Antonis Georgiadis

He was born in the village of Mylikouri¹ on November 10, 1931.

He passed away on May 12, 2012.

He graduated from the Hellenic High School of Paphos and then studied theology at the Theological School of Chalki. After the end of the EOKA struggle, he continued his studies at the University of Bonn and the School of Political Sciences in Munich.

Antonis Georgiadis was one of the first to join EOKA and during most of the four-year liberation struggle he shared his burden as deputy leader and as the closest collaborator of Georgios Grivas - Digenis, military leader of the Cypriot revolution.

He was arrested by the British in September 1955 and imprisoned in the Kokkinotrimithia concentration camp. He managed to escape from this camp on January 19, 1956, together with Polykarpos Yorkatzis. After his escape he went up to the mountain where he initially served as the leader of guerrilla groups in the area of Milikouri - Gerakion - Pedoulas (from February to June 1956). Then, and until the end of the struggle, he served alongside Digenis, as deputy leader of EOKA.

After the end of the struggle, Antonis Georgiadis accompanied Digenis to Athens, on March 17, 1959. On April 24, 1959, when Archbishop Makarios formed his first government during the transition period from the end of the struggle to the official establishment of the Republic of Cyprus, Antonis Georgiadis was appointed Minister of Transport and Works. When, subsequently, the first serious disagreements and misunderstandings arose between Archbishop Makarios and Georgios Grivas - Digenis, Antonis Georgiadis was one of the pioneers for a meeting between the two leaders and a resolution of the differences between them. The meeting, which was also attended by Georgiadis, took place in Rhodes on October 7, 1959.

A little later, on November 10, 1959, Georgiadis resigned from his ministerial position and left for West Germany to complete his studies. Later, he avoided getting involved in local politics and worked as a corporate consultant.

Source: www.polignosi.com