Newsroom
Sixty-five years ago, the Union Jack was lowered in Nicosia, the new Cypriot flag was raised, and Archbishop Makarios III signed the papers that marked the island’s leap into independence.
On August 16, 1960, after years of colonial rule and a bloody liberation struggle, Cyprus was declared a sovereign republic under the Zurich and London agreements. The event was sealed in ceremony, with the last British governor, Sir Hugh Foot, sitting side by side at a festive dinner with the island’s first president, Makarios, in a symbolic passing of the torch.
Newspapers across Europe carried headlines the next morning: “Cyprus Becomes an Independent State”. The front page of Kathimerini captured the historic moment, while The Financial Times published images of crowds waving flags and celebrating in the streets.
Photographs from the period show Makarios signing the independence documents, speaking from the Parliament floor as the first head of state, and standing alongside British officials at the flag-raising ceremony, a day that blended solemnity with jubilation.
But while independence was officially proclaimed on August 16, it wasn’t until 1963 that October 1 was chosen as the island’s annual Independence Day, allowing the occasion to be celebrated with full honors and in the presence of foreign diplomats.
For many Cypriots, the memory of that summer in 1960 lives on in old black-and-white clippings and Associated Press reports that carried the island’s story to the world. It was the moment Cyprus, long pulled between empires, finally stood as a nation of its own.
Archbishop Makarios signs the relevant independence documents in August 1960
The front page of the newspaper "Kathimerini", on August 17, 1960, entitled "Cyprus became an independent State yesterday"
Lowering of the British flag and raising of the Cypriot flag at the current building of the Parliament
The President of the Republic of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios, together with the last English governor of Cyprus Sir Hugh Foot and his family at a festive dinner for the ceremony of the Proclamation of Cyprus Independence. August 1960 (David Lees)
Greek Cypriots celebrate Independence (Financial Times)
The front page of the newspaper "Eleftheria" on August 17
Archbishop Makarios after the establishment of the Republic in a speech to the Parliament
ASSOCIATED PRESS report from that time
