Transport minister resigns

Transport Minister Marios Demetriades resigned from his post on Monday, news he made public on Facebook.

In a post on his social media account he thanked President Nicos Anastasiades for the offer to stay on in his new cabinet saying although it was an honour ‘I chose to leave politics and return, as a professional, to the private sector’.

Demetriades said his circle at the transport ministry had come to an end and expressed his gratitude to Anastasiades for the trust he showed him in contributing ‘during a difficult time for Cyprus’.

“Society and the economy will judge the result of these efforts.”

Demetriades is the second official resignation from Anastasiades’ cabinet, after Foreign Minister Ioannis Kassoulides also announced his departure from the post, saying he did not seek a second term.

The last day for the current council of ministers is February 28. The new members will be sworn in on March 1.

Who will take up which post has been a hot topic of conversation. There are 11 ministerial posts. Kassoulides is largely expected to be replaced by government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides however Finance Minister Harris Georgiades has also expressed his interest in the job.

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.