Makarios III

Makarios III (Μακάριος Γ΄; born Michael Christodoulou Mouskos [Μιχαήλ Χριστοδούλου Μούσκος]; 13 August 1913 – 3 August 1977) was a Greek Cypriot archbishop, primate, statesman and politician, who served as the first President of Cyprus between 1960 and 1977.

In 1926, aged 13, he was admitted to Kykkos Monastery as a novice.

At age 20 he was sent to the Pancyprian Gymnasium in Nicosia where he completed his secondary education in 1936.

Like many public figures in the Greek Cypriot community in Cyprus, in the 1940s and 1950s he was an active supporter of enosis, the union of Cyprus with Greece.

He spent the difficult years of World War II studying theology and law at the University of Athens, graduating in 1942.

He took up the duties of a priest in the Cypriot Orthodox Church while sustaining an interest in academic theology; he received a World Council of Churches scholarship to undertake further study at Boston University in Massachusetts.

In 1948, while still studying at Boston, he was elected Bishop of Kition against his will.

Mouskos adopted, as his clerical name, an old Greek given name Makários (Μακάριος) meaning "happy, fortunate, blessed".

He then returned to Cyprus.

He was also the Archbishop of the autocephalous Church of Cyprus from 1950 to 1977.

He is widely regarded as the founding father, or "Ethnarch", of the Republic of Cyprus, leading its transition from British colonial rule.

Michael Christodoulou Mouskos was born in Panayia village in the Paphos District.

On 18 September 1950, Makarios, only 37 years old, was elected Archbishop of Cyprus.

In this role he was not only the official head of the Orthodox Church in Cyprus, but became the Ethnarch, de facto national leader of Cypriots.

This highly influential position put Makarios at the centre of Cypriot politics.

During the 1950s, Makarios embraced his dual role as Archbishop and Ethnarch with enthusiasm and became a very popular figure among Greek Cypriots.

He soon became a leading advocate for enosis (the unification of Cyprus with Greece), and during the early part of the decade he maintained close links with the Greek government.

In the latter years of the 1950s, the Turkish Cypriot community first began to float the idea of Taksim or partition, as a counterweight to the Greek ideal of enosis or union.

Advocates of Taksim felt that the Turkish Cypriot community would be persecuted in a Greek Cyprus, and that only by keeping part of the island under either British or Turkish sovereignty could the safety of the Turkish Cypriots be guaranteed.

In this way the Cyprus dispute became increasingly polarized between two communities with opposing visions of the future of the island.

Makarios was released from exile after a year, although he was still forbidden to return to Cyprus.

He went instead to Athens, where he was rapturously received.

Basing himself in the Greek capital, he continued to work for enosis.

During the following two years he attended the General Assembly of the United Nations where the Cyprus question was discussed; and he worked hard to achieve union with Greece.

In August 1954, partly at Makarios' instigation, Greece began to raise the question of Cyprus at the United Nations, arguing for the principle of self-determination to be applied to Cyprus.

This was viewed by advocates of enosis as likely to result in the voluntary union of Cyprus with Greece following a public referendum.

However, the British government was reluctant to decolonise the island which had become their new headquarters for the Middle East.

In 1955, a pro-enosis organization was formed under the banner of Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston (National Organization of Cypriot Fighters), or EOKA.

This was a typical independence movement of the period.

Makarios undoubtedly had common political ground with EOKA and was acquainted with its leader, the Greek-Cypriot soldier and politician George Grivas, but the extent of his involvement is unclear and disputed.

In later life he categorically denied any involvement in the violent resistance undertaken by EOKA.

On 20 August 1955, Greece submitted a petition to the United Nations requesting the application of the principle of self-determination to the people of Cyprus.

After that, the colonial government of Cyprus enforced the anti-sedition laws for the purpose of preventing or suppressing demonstrations in favor of union with Greece; but the archbishop defied them and continued demanding self-determination for Cyprus.

In October 1955, with the security situation deteriorating, the British governor, Sir John Harding, opened talks on the island's future.

By this stage, Makarios had become closely identified with the insurgency, and talks broke up without any agreement in early 1956.

Makarios, vilified in the British press and viewed with suspicion by the British authorities, was abducted by Special Branch officers while attempting to board a flight at Nicosia airport.

The joint police/military plan, codenamed Operation Apollo, saw Makarios exiled to Mahe Island in the Seychelles on 9 March 1956, as a 'guest' of Sir William Addis, Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Seychelles.

The Archbishop and his staff were flown to Aden and then on to Mombasa.

At the Kenyan port the party were embarked in the East African Naval Vessel Rosalind, escorted by the frigate HMS Loch Fada.

The flotilla arrived in Port Victoria on 14 March.