The building housing Diko’s headquarters was renamed ‘Spyros Kyprianou’ on Thursday as an “act of historic memory, respect and recognition of the founder and historical leader of the party”.

Addressing the ceremony in the lobby of the building, just days away from the May 24 parliamentary elections, Diko president Nikolas Papadopoulos said this was an exceptionally important moment for the political party.

“We owe the historic course of our party to one man, Spyros Kyprianou, the leader who took over Cyprus at the most difficult time, who undertook to lead our people and contributed decisively to rebuilding the Republic of Cyprus, who took the country from the ruins of the invasion and achieved the economic miracle of the 1980s, the man who dedicated his life to the service of his homeland and his people,” Papadopoulos said.

Renaming the building, he added, was recognition of Spyros Kyprianou’s life work.

Papadopoulos said Diko helped Cyprus recover from the 1974 Turkish invasion and join the EU in 2004.

He said Diko also “saved the Republic of Cyprus from the Annan plan”, delineated Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone and brought the country out of the memorandum and bankruptcy following the recession and guided it back to positive growth rates.

“We are proud of the achievements of Diko,” Papadopoulos said.

Diko, he added, was not a party of protest, but a party of reponsibility, working towards fulfilling Cyprus’ prospects, in the fields of employment, health, technology and innovation, natural gas and joining the Schengen area.

Papadopoulos pointed out that all the people were entitled to a share of Cyprus’ financial growth and assured Diko would continue to strive to achieve this.

Marcos Kyprianou, son of Spyros Kyprianou, speaking on behalf of the family, said Diko played a significant role in some of the most difficult times for Cyprus.

“But its role and mission do not end here,” he said, adding that Diko had much more to offer and would continue to be the constructive voice that would contribute to further growth and the solution of the Cyprus problem.