George Pippas has been elected the Deputy Mayor of Cambridge Council George is from Paliometocho, in Cyprus which is situated 12 miles from Nicosia near the old Nicosia Airport. His father, who has passed away, was called Gregorios Pippas and my mother, who is still alive, is called Maria. He is the the sixth in line out of nine children (Six boys and three girls).
He is married to Anastasia Pippas who is from the same village and they have been happily married for 30 years. They have three children: Christina, who is an Oxford University Graduate in Philosophy and Theology and an active member of NEPOMAK, Gregory, who is a Masters Graduate in Electronic Engineering from Sheffield University and Antoni who has just completed his second year at UCL where he is reading History.
His primary education was in his village and his secondary education was at the Pancyprian Gymnasium Kykko for boys in Nicosia where he was awarded a prize by President Makarios for academic excellence. After having spent nearly three years as a lieutenant in the Cypriot National Guard, a term which included him serving in the war of 1974, he came to read Electronic Engineering at Cambridge. He also holds a second degree in Business Management and belongs to various professional bodies such the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Institute of Quality Assurance and the Institute of Charted Engineers.
After graduation, I worked for various Blue-Chip organisations. His final position was as a Senior Executive Manager at Polaroid where I was in charge of the European and Export Markets in over 100 countries.
He is currently a local business man in Cambridge running his own businesses. Working for himself has given him an opportunity to get involved with local Politics and the local Greek community of St. Athanasios Cambridge. In Cambridge there are about 150 Greek and Greek Cypriot families, however they do not own our own church. Therefore, in January 2011 his Eminence Archbishop Gregorios appointed him as the President of the Fund Raising committee whose main purpose is to raise funds to help them acquire their own place of worship and other buildings that will meet their educational and social needs.
In March 2011, he became one of the candidates representing the Liberal Democrat Party here in Cambridge and in May 2011 he was elected as one of the Cambridge City Councillors..
In May this year he was nominated by his party as a Deputy Mayor and he was elected by the full Council on the 23rd of May 2013.
He says “I feel honoured and privileged to hold this position, as I am the first British Greek Cypriot to have been voted to such a position in the political history of Cambridge. I will work very hard in my position and I will try and be worthy of the trust bestowed upon me by the Cambridge City Council.
I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to everyone who supported me and all those people who have sent their kind wishes since the announcement was made”