Nikos Sampson

Nikos Sampson (Nicos Sampson; ; December 16, 1935 – May 9, 2001) was the de facto president of Cyprus who succeeded Archbishop Makarios, President of Cyprus, in 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. After Cyprus's eventual independence (instead of Enosis), in 1960, and 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, and remained in the position for eight days. Following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus on July 20th 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, an assertion which to this date has not been corroborated or dismissed. He served most of his sentence in France due to poor health, where he had gone for medical treatment. He returned to Cyprus in 1990, and was pardoned the remainder of his sentence in 1993. He died of cancer in 2001.

The EOKA period

Sampson was born in the Cypriot port city of Famagusta to Sampson Georgiadis and Theano Liasidou. During his teenage years, he was a promising right back in the second team of Anorthosis Famagusta football club. He began his working life at a Nicosia newspaper, The Times of Cyprus, which was owned by Charles...
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