Marios Matsakis

Marios Matsakis (born 2 August 1954) is a Cypriot politician and former Member of the European Parliament for the Democratic Party, and sat with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group. Although a medical doctor by profession, he became involved in politics in the mid-1990s and has sparked controversy on several occasions. Marios Matsakis announced on 29 December 2007 that he would run for president in the 2008 Cypriot presidential elections. He gained 0.77% coming fourth behind the three main candidates.

Education

Matsakis was born in Limassol. He graduated from the University of London in 1976 with a BSc in microbiology and was awarded a PhD in biochemistry in 1981. He was awarded his medical degree from the University of Cambridge in 1984 and specialised in forensic medicine at the University of Glasgow where he was awarded an MPhil in 1992. He then moved to Greece where he continued his studies in forensic pathology. He returned to Cyprus in 1994. At first he assumed a position in the medical field but he soon became interested in politics and was elected as an MP in 1996.