The international federation of the resistance fighters (FIR) - association of the anti-fascists salutes Loizos Demetriou

FEDERATION INTERNATIONALE DES RESISTANTS (FIR) - ASSOCIATION ANTIFASCISTE

Berlin, 03.10.2016

Loizos Demetriou, president of Cyprus Veterans, died 1^st October

The FIR announced with deep mourning that on October 1^st, 2016 our comrade Loizos Demetriou, fighter in the ranks of the Anti-Hitler-Coalition, President of the Cyprus Veterans Association World War II, passed at the age of 95.

During the Second World War the late Loizos Demetriou joined voluntarily the Cyprus Regiment. After his initial training, he served as sergeant and later as lieutenant. He served in countries of the Middle East. In his serving he fought alongside the allies of WWII as part of the liberation army.

After demobilization he dedicated most of his time to serve for the benefit of his comrades from various positions in the Cyprus Veterans Association WWII where since 2002 he served as the President of the Association, post which he held to date. Loizos Demetriou has been highly recommended and honored by military and social structures for his remembrance work in Cyprus.

In an obituary, his political friends wrote:

"During his whole life Loizos Demetriou did not choose the easy way and always fought for what he believed.”

We express our deepest sympathy for his relatives and all members of the Cyprus Veterans Association World War II.

For the Executive Committee of FIR

Sekretariat: Internationale Foderation der Widerstandskampfer (FIR), Franz-Mehring-Platz 1, D- 10243 Berlin Fon (30) 29 78 41 74, Fax (30) 29 78 41 79, e-mail: office@fir.at, Internet www.fir.at Bankverbindung: Postbank Berlin BLZ 100 100 10 , Kontonummer 543 054 107

IBAN: DE 04 1001 0010 0543 0541 07 SWIFT-Code/BIC: PBNKDEFF Prasident : Vilmos Hanti (Ungarn); Generalsekretar : Dr. Ulrich Schneider (Deutschland)

Die Internationale Foderation der Widerstandskampfer (FIR) wurde vom Generalsekretar der Vereinten Nationen zum «Botschafter des Friedens» ernannt. Sie besitzt NGO-Status bei der UNESCO, Paris, der standigen Kommission der UNO, Genf, und dem Europarat, Strasbourg.

In memory

This is a blog honouring the life of Loizos Demetriou, who passed away on 1 October 2016 at the age of 95. He was a chairman of the Cyprus Association World War II Veterans from 2002 until his death.

The late Loizos Demetriou was born in the village of Komi Kepir in Karpasia peninsula. He was a progressive and a trade unionist in his youth. He volunteer in the war to fight against Nazism / fascism. He served in the Cyprus Regiment of the British army, where he attended the officers' school. He became a lieutenant, the highest ranking Cypriot serving. He came from a very poor family, as he lost his father when he was five. However, due to his enormous will power, determination, effort and intelligence, he managed to study and become a chartered accountant in the UK. On his return to Cyprus, he was recruited to the newly established Cyprus Electricity Authority EAC, which he served from 1956 until 1981. He retired from the post of Director of Finance, having contributed to the development of the Agency.

Loizos Demetriou also served as Treasurer of World Federation of Veterans. He was a founding member of the Certified Public Accountants, the Association of Graduate School of Commerce Famagusta of Cyprus-Soviet Friendship Association and the Association of Veterans of WWII, in which he served until the end of his life.