Significant changes are taking place in Civil Defense. Colonel of the Cypriot Army, at the Ministry of Defence, was appointed as Deputy Commander of Civil Defence, from 24 March 2026 to 23 March 2029.
This is Colonel Theodoros Lemoniatis, who replaces the director Maria Papas, who was seconded to the Audit Office, after criticism of the state of the Civil Defense shelters. The secondment of Mr. Lemoniatis is published today in the Official Gazette of the Republic.
At the same time, with this secondment, there are two other important secondments concerning the Presidency of the Republic. This is that of the Director General of the Ministry of Interior Elikkos Elias and the Director General of the Ministry of Agriculture Andreas Grigoriou. According to the decision of the Council of Ministers, Mr. Elikkos A. Elias, is partially seconded to the Presidency and the Presidential Palace, to perform special duties, pursuant to article 47(1)(e) of the Public Service Laws of 1990 to 2025, from March 23, 2026 to October 31, 2026.
At the same time, the partial secondment of Mr. Andreas Grigoriou, General Manager, to the Presidency and the Presidential Palace, for the performance of special duties, pursuant to Article 47(1)(e) of the Public Service Laws of 1990 to 2025, was terminated as of March 23, 2026.
In a report the day before yesterday, the Parliament blamed Mr. Grigoriou for the deadly fire last year in Mountainous Limassol, since he was the Coordinator for fire issues, appointed by the Council of Ministers and at the time in question he was absent in Australia for official purposes.
