Marina Glykis-Hadjimanolis appointed Cyprus Shipping Deputy Ministry head

Appointee Marina Glykis-Hadjimanolis, a city councillor and lawyer in Limassol, headed up Christodoulides’ political office during the election campaign.

Christodoulides, 49, was officially sworn in February 28 as the eighth president of the Cyprus Republic in a short ceremony held at the House of Representatives. Christodoulides vowed to work together with parliament and MPs “for the good of the country”. He said his “respect for the constitution and the laws made thereunder and the preservation of the independence and the territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus” were among his priorities.

The 11 male and six female ministers and deputy ministers were sworn in during a ceremony at the presidential palace March 1. 

The appointment of Glykis-Hadjimanolis, who was born in 1973, as head of Cyprus’ Shipping Deputy Ministry is seen as a sign that shipping will continue to enjoy a direct line to the country’s president though the deputy minister has in the past had little direct involvement in shipping unlike her popular predecessor at the ministry, Vassilis Demetriades, who was a seasoned shipping policymaker at the European Commission.

Shipping has acquired an important role in the Cypriot economy over the past few decades culminating in the establishment of the Shipping Deputy Ministry as a standalone independent ministry five years ago, to deal with maritime matters quicker and more efficiently.

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Cyprus is the EU’s third largest registry and has long been a traditional offshore centre for Russian business. Although the Shipping Deputy Ministry earned many kudos under Demetriades’ leadership, over the past year Demetriades has had to defend Cypriot shipping interests amid an onslaught of European Union sanctions against Russia, which caused scores of ships and Russian companies to leave the East Mediterranean country.

Despite this, the country backed EU sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine while Demetriades has been lobbying to make sure the sanctions are formulated in a way that protect essential shipping interests and has repeatedly urged the EU to take additional measures to protect and promote European flags.