Curriculum Vitae

Born in Limassol, Cyprus in December 1934. He graduated the Pancyprian Gymnasium in 1952. He studied law in London at the Middle Temple and he became a Barrister-at-Law.

He practised as a lawyer for a short while. Thereafter he became involved in business and he became one of the owners and the CEO of a major industrial group for many years.

In 1976 he became one of the founding members of the Democratic Movement which later on was renamed Democratic Party.

In March 1978 he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs. He resigned in September 1983 as a result of a dispute with President Kyprianou in regard to the handling of the Cyprus problem.

In September 1986 he founded the Liberal Party of which he was the elected President until March 1998, when the Party decided to merge with the Democratic Rally Party.

From May 1991 until May 1996 he was a member of the House of Representatives.

In July 1993 the Governments of Cyprus and Greece, by their respective decisions and communiques, supported Mr. Rolandis for the post of U.N. Secretary-General for the period 1997-2001. Eventually only candidates from Africa were considered.

In September 1994 Mr. Rolandis was elected Vice-President of Liberal International and he served until 1998.

He was one of the seven candidates in the presidential elections of February 1998. Eventually Mr. Glafcos Clerides was elected and Mr. Rolandis was appointed in March 1998 as Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism in the government of “wide acceptance” formed by Mr. Clerides. He served until February 2003, when Mr. Clerides’ term of office expired.

During his term of office in the above Ministry (which includes the portfolio of Energy), Mr. Rolandis was the pioneer who initiated efforts and pursued strongly the issue of the offshore oil and gas reserves of Cyprus. He contacted many countries (Egypt, USA, Russia, Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Algeria).

On the 17th February 2003 he signed in Cairo an Agreement delineating the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) of Cyprus and Egypt, the first EEZ agreement signed in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Over the years many political, economic, development and energy issues have been addressed through interviews and articles by Mr. Rolandis.

Mr. Rolandis was honored with the following high decorations bestowed on him by the Presidents of the respective countries:

• The Grand Cross of Honour of the Republic of Greece.
• The Grand Golden Decoration of the Republic of Austria.
• The Order of the Yugoslav Star of the Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia.
• In September 2019 the President of the Republic of Cyprus bestowed on Mr. Rolandis the Metal of Excellent Services of the Republic of Cyprus for his work over the years and for his services to Cyprus, especially in the field of the national problem of Cyprus and also the hydrocarbons in the field of which he was the pioneer.

The Cyprus Oil and Gas Association honoured him for his pioneering work in the field of the Cyprus hydrocarbons. He was also honoured with many decorations and awards by churches, communities, municipalities, associations and public institutions in Cyprus and abroad.

He showed an interest in literature and poetry and he published a book of poetry in 1958. In the year 2015 his daughter Melita and her family published the book “Articles on Cyprus” that contains articles of Nicos A. Rolandis written in the Greek and English languages of the period 2008-2015. In the year 2019 his daughter Ariana Hadjikyriacou and her family published his book “Glimpses into Life and History” which contains the experiences of his life.

He is married. Wife: Lelia. Children: Melita, Ariana, Andreas.