Klairi N. Agelidou

Claire Angelidou has published eleven poetry collections to date, with a dominant theme of reflection and sorrow over the bitter fate of Cyprus, as well as the optimism of return. Born in Famagusta, she studied at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Athens and worked as a teacher and principal in secondary education. She was actively involved during the liberation struggle of 1955-1959 and was a vibrant figure in the social and intellectual life of Famagusta and later Limassol. In May 1991, she was elected as a Member of Parliament with the Democratic Rally, and from 1993 to 1997, she served as the Minister of Education and Culture in the government of Glafcos Clerides. In June 2005, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Athens, and in November of the same year, she received a Doctorate from Middlesex University in London. She is an honorary member of the Parnassos Literary Society (2006), an honorary citizen of Aspropyrgos (2008), an honorary member of the Hellenic Language Heritage, and an honorary member of the Society of Greek Philologists of Greece (2012).