Labor Minister Zeta Emilianidou has died aged 68

The Presidency of the Republic has expressed its deepest sorrow over the death of Labour and Social Insurance Minister Zeta Emilianidou.

Emilianidou had been receiving treatment at a specialized clinic in Athens for the past few weeks after having suffered a brain aneurysm.

In a press release, the Presidency said that she passed away at 20:30 hours on the evening of June 6, 2022, at the "Ygeia" medical center in Athens.  She was 68 years old.

"The President of the Republic Nicos Anastasiades and the government express their deepest condolences to her family," the press release reads.

In a tweet the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also expressed deep sorrow, noting that Emilianidou "was a very capable woman who graced political and public life with her work and contribution."

Zeta Emilianidou was born in Nicosia. She graduated with a law degree from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and earned a diploma in Marketing Management from the Cyprus Institute of Marketing. She passed the Cyprus Bar Association examinations and was a registered lawyer since 1978.

From 2001 to 2010 she was the Director of the Department of Customs and The Registrar of Value Added Tax. She was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Ports Authority. From 2010 to 2013 she served as the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism as well as President of the Cyprus Energy Foundation and the Special Fund for Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Saving.

During her many years of service, she was the head of the team that prepared the present Customs Legislation of the Republic of Cyprus and a member of the team that designed and prepared the Value Added Tax Legislation. She is the author of the book entitled "Value Added Tax in Cyprus" published in 1992, the year that the VAT legislation first came into force. As Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Energy, Commerce, Industry and Tourism, she was responsible for the completion of the 2nd Round of Hydrocarbon Exploration Licenses in Offshore areas of Cyprus and was the Chairman of the Advisory Committee, which was responsible for the evaluation of the applications of the companies that expressed interest, which eventually led to the signing of contracts for 5 exploration blocks in the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Republic of Cyprus.

On April 3, 2013, she was appointed by the President of the Republic to the position of Minister of Labour, Welfare and Social Insurance of the Republic of Cyprus. As Minister, she promoted a series of reforms concerning all areas of responsibility of the Ministry, with particular emphasis on social welfare issues, worker's rights and gender equality issues. Important reforms she implemented under her term were the institutionalization of a National Minimum Wage and a mechanism for setting and revising its level, the revision and modernization of the Social Insurance Legislation and pension reform, as well as the process for the digitalization of the applications for all benefits being doled out by the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance, providing a much-improved service to citizens.