The President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, exercising the powers vested in him by the Constitution, has decided to make the following changes to the composition of the government members:

Mr. Vasilis Palmas is appointed as the Minister of Defense.

Ms. Maria Panagiotou is appointed as the Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development, and Environment.

Mr. Marios Hartsiotis is appointed as the Minister of Justice and Public Order.

Mr. Michalis Damianos is appointed as the Minister of Health.

Mr. Nikodimos Damianou is appointed as the Deputy Minister of Innovation, Research, and Digital Policy.

Ms. Marilena Raouna is appointed as the Deputy Minister of European Affairs.

Mr. Panagiotis Palates is appointed as the Commissioner for Citizens.

Mr. Charalambos Christofinas is appointed as the Commissioner for Mountainous Areas.

Ms. Antonia Theodosiou is appointed as the Commissioner for the Environment.

The assurance and assumption of duties of the new ministers and officials of the government will take place and be effective from Wednesday, January 10, 2023.

Biographies of the new government members:

Vasilis Palmas was born in Limassol in 1964. He studied Political Sciences and Public Administration. He worked as a managerial executive in the Farmakas Quarries Group.

He served as a member of the Review Authority for Tenders.

He was married to Angeliki Christodoulou and has one son.

He was the president of the Youth of the Democratic Party (NEDHK) and later served as the General Secretary of the Democratic Party (DIKO). He served as the Director of Press in the Office of the President of the Republic and as the Government Spokesperson in the government of Tassos Papadopoulos.

On May 8, 2017, he was appointed as Deputy Minister to the President in the government of Nikos Anastasiades, a position he held until February 2, 2022, when he resigned for personal reasons.

Maria Panagiotou was born on June 5, 1982, in Larnaca.

She studied History and Archaeology at the University of Cyprus, graduating in 2004 with honors. In 2006, she completed her postgraduate studies at the University of Birmingham, receiving an Mphil (B) in Modern East Mediterranean History. In 2017, she was awarded a Doctorate in Modern and Contemporary History (PhD in Modern and Contemporary History) from the University of Cyprus.

In March 2023, she had the honor of being appointed by the President of the Republic as Commissioner for the Environment.

She served as Head of the Press Office of EDEK and as the party's Press Spokesperson from March 2016 to February 2023. From 2004 to 2022, she worked on more than seven research projects of excellence, co-funded by the European Development Funds, the University of Cyprus, the Foundation for the Promotion of Research, and the Anastasios G. Leventis Foundation, gaining significant experience in archival research and managing research programs. She stands out for her employment as a member of the Scientific Team of the University of Cyprus for the project "Cyprus File" for the period 2007-2010. Between 2017 and 2022, she worked as a Specialist Scientist with teaching duties in economic history at the Department of History and Archaeology of the University of Cyprus.

She has published more than 16 scientific articles in mixed volumes and international scientific journals (such as the European History Quarterly) on the theme of economic history and has already participated in a large number of international scientific conferences, the most recent being the International Conference of the Modern Greek Studies Association in Toronto, Canada (October 2022).

She originates from Agios Sergios Famagusta and currently resides temporarily in Larnaca. Her parents are Michalis Panagiotou and Ifigeneia Kossifou. She is the mother of an eight-year-old boy, Achilleas Ioannou.

Marios Hartsiotis was born in Nicosia and is a graduate of the Law School of the University of Athens. He completed his practical training at the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic and was registered in the register of the Pancyprian Bar Association in 1988. He holds a postgraduate degree (MA) from the University of Nicosia in the field of Theology.

Since 1990, he has maintained his own law office in Limassol. He attended numerous seminars and passed examinations in the broader legal field. He is a registered Arbitrator at the Cyprus Centre for Arbitration and Mediation and is also a registered Insolvency Practitioner.

He served as a member of the Housing Finance Organization and a member of the Sports Tribunal of the CFA.

He participates and has participated either as President or as a member of a number of associations and foundations.

He is married and has one son.

Michalis Damianos was born in Nicosia (Archangelos) with origins from Polystypos and Larnaca.

He is a lawyer, holder of a law degree (LLB) with honors from the University of Southampton (recipient of the award for best academic performance from the same university), holder of a postgraduate law degree (LLM) from the University of Cambridge with a specialization in International Law (recipient of the award for best academic performance from Fitzwilliam College of the University of Cambridge) and holder of the professional title Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England & Wales. He worked at the international law firms Simmons & Simmons and Hogan Lovells in London, specializing in corporate, commercial, and energy matters.

Upon his return to Cyprus, he worked in a law office in Nicosia and in 2010 founded the law office that bears his name.

He served as a Municipal Councilor in the Municipality of Strovolos (2011-2016).

He has been the Vice President of the Democratic Party since 2018.

He is married and has two children.

Nikodimos Damianou was born in Nicosia in 1973.

He holds a Sc.B degree in Computer Science from Brown University - United States of America, a Doctoral Degree (Ph.D.) in the field of Electronic Computers & Network Management from Imperial College - United Kingdom, a DIC degree (Diploma of Information Security) from Imperial College, and an MBA from the University of Cyprus.

He is a professional in information technology and information security with many years of experience in Payment Systems & Fintech, Risk Management Methodologies, and Digital Transformation Technologies. He served as a managerial executive at the Bank of Cyprus, and for the last six (6) years, he has been performing the duties of General Manager of the company JCC Payment Systems Ltd.

He is married to Rodoula Damianou and the father of two children, Eleni and Sophia.

She was appointed director of the Diplomatic Office of the President of the Republic in the government of Nikos Christodoulidis. Concurrently, she was a Diplomatic Advisor for EU issues (EU Sherpa) and Secretary of the National Council.

Marilena Raouna was born in Larnaca in 1983. She originates from the occupied Famagusta. She is a graduate of the American Academy of Larnaca.

She studied law at the University of Oxford (BA in Jurisprudence) with postgraduate studies (LLM) in Public International and European Law at the London School of Economics and Political Sciences (Chevening scholar). She holds a diploma in French language and culture from the University of Sorbonne.

From 2007 to 2010 she worked at the European Commission, at the Directorate General of Justice, Freedom, and Security, as the head of the European program for combating violence against women, young people, and children ("Daphne III").

From 2010 to 2014, she served at the Permanent Representation of Cyprus to the EU. During the first Cypriot Presidency of the EU Council (2012), she was the national representative of Cyprus in the Council's Working Group on enlargement issues and a member of the Council of the EU's negotiating team in trilogues with the European Parliament and the European Commission for establishing a new pre-accession aid mechanism.

From 2014 to 2018, she worked at the Diplomatic Office of the President of the Republic as a special advisor to the Director of the Diplomatic Office, including EU matters. She also participated in the most recent negotiations for the resolution of the Cyprus issue and in a special negotiating team for EU issues.

From 2018 to 2021, she worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a special advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

She is married to Seth Rosenbaum and is the mother of two children.

Panagiotis Palates was born in Nicosia in 1985. He graduated from the Archangelos Unified Lyceum and served his military service as a Reserve Second Lieutenant in the Infantry. He studied at the School of Philosophy at the University of Ioannina and holds a degree in Archaeology. He continued and completed his postgraduate studies at the Université de Strasbourg in France in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. Additionally, he developed academic research in specialized fields of the humanities with publications and presentations at international conferences.

He worked as a scientific associate in academic research projects and in academic archaeological research in Greece and Jordan, in Ithaca, at the Necromanteion of Ephyra, and at Tel Kafrein respectively, as the head of an archaeological sector. Subsequently, he worked in the House of Representatives as a Scientific Associate, and most recently served as an Advisor to the President of the Republic.

He was actively involved in public affairs in the student movement and local community, in Ioannina as President of the Student Faction Anagenesis, in Nicosia as Provincial Organizational Secretary of the Democratic Party and later as Deputy General Organizational Secretary and member of the Central Committee of DIKO.

He is married to Myrto Ktena Palate and is the father of Kyriakos, aged 9, and Beatrice, aged 5.

Charalambos Christofinas, born on March 29, 1966, in Kyperounda, holds a degree in Political Science and Public Administration from the Law School of Athens. He worked in the Department of Water Development from 1985 to 1999 and during his studies, he worked at Louis Sbarro HELLAS A.E.

Since 2007, he has been active in the private sector in a Construction Services Company. He has been a member of the Provincial Council of NE.DI.SY Limassol since 1993 and served as Provincial Secretary from 1996 to 1999.

He was the Vice President of the Cultural Committee of Kyperounda for five years and a member of the SPE KYPEROYNTAS Committee from 2005 to 2007.

He is married and a father of three: Maria, 19 years old; Alexandros, 18; and Theophania, 11. Since 2018, he has been a permanent resident of Kyperounda.

Antonia Theodosiou studied at the RWTH Aachen University in Germany, earning a master's degree in Architecture, specializing in ecological construction and restoration of architectural heritage monuments.

She attended courses for one year in Environmental Engineering at the Technische Universität Braunschweig in Germany and pursued a two-year postgraduate program in the Restoration of Historical Monuments at the Frederick University in Cyprus.

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