UN spokesman in Cyprus dies suddenly (Updated)

Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Cyprus, Lisa Buttenheim​ on Wednesday announced that UNFICYP spokesman Michel Bonnardeaux had died suddenly. He was 48.

“It is with great sadness that the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus announces the sudden passing of our colleague and friend, Michel Bonnardeaux,” she said in a written statement.

“For over three years Michel served with distinction as Spokesperson and Chief of the Public Information Office in UNFICYP and the Good Offices Mission in Cyprus. With long experience in United Nations peacekeeping, Michel had previously worked at UN Headquarters and in the field, including peace operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, Haiti, South Sudan and Mali. UNFICYP extends its deep condolences to his family in Canada and Spain. We will miss him.”

Espen Barth Eide, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General, who is currently on the island said: “Michel was a crucial member of the UN Team here in Cyprus, serving both UNFICYP and the Good Offices Mission in its important outreach work. He was a close collaborator as well as a good friend and our thoughts are with his family and loved ones.”

Also in a written statement, Government Spokesman Nicos Christodoulides expressed the Greek Cypriot side’s deep sorrow for Bonnardeaux’s sudden passing.

“During his tenure in Cyprus Michel Bonnardeaux offered his services with great zeal and high professionalism,” Christodoulides said. “The government expresses its sincere condolences to his family and loved ones as well as to the United Nations Mission in Cyprus.

 

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.