Brief Biography

Eleni Mavrou was born in Kyrenia in 1961, and has been residing in Nicosia since the Turkish invasion of the island in 1974.

In the Municipal Elections which were held on 17 December 2006, she ran as the candidate of the Municipal Coalition which united the three parties of AKEL, DIKO and EDEK. She was elected Mayor of Nicosia, and took office on 2 January 2007.
Since 2007, Ms Mavrou has also been serving as the Chairperson of the Board of Sewerage System of Nicosia.

Ms Mavrou initially studied Civil Engineering at the Higher Technical Institute in
Nicosia, but continued her education at the University of London where she obtained her BSc degree in Politics and International Relations.

During her student years, Ms Mavrou was actively involved in our local student movement and later in the progressive youth movement. Among other things, she held the position of Vice President of the Cyprus Federation of Students and Young Scientists, and was appointed Secretary General of EDON.

As a member of AKEL’s Central Committee, Ms Mavrou’s efforts were focused on the areas of Local Authority and the Environment for many years. In addition, she demonstrated a great interest in human rights issues and played an active role in the women’s movement.

She served as a Councilor on the Nicosia Municipal Council for two consecutive terms from 1986 to 1996.

In 2001 she was elected in Nicosia to be among AKEL’s members of the House of Representatives, and was re-elected to the same position in 2006.
She served as President of the House Committee on the Environment and a member of the House Committees on Internal Affairs and Human Rights.

She was a member of the European Convention on the Future of the European Union, and in 2003 was appointed by the House of Representatives as a Cyprus observer at the European Parliament. After Cyprus’s accession to the European Union and until the elected Cyprus Members of the European Parliament took office, Ms Mavrou represented Cyprus at the European Parliament. During the same period, she was a member of the Committee for the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, as well as the Committee for Civil Liberties, Justice and Internal Affairs.

Ms Mavrou has been conferred the Knight of the Order of Merit by the Government of France, and has been awarded the Grand Decoration of Honour in Silver with Sash by the Republic of Austria in acknowledgement of her services.