George Papanastasiou was appointed Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry on March 1st 2023.
He is a mechanical engineer by profession, with an HND in Mechanical Engineering from the Higher Technical Institute of Cyprus, a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from City University London and an MSc in Refrigeration and Air Conditioning from Kings College London.
He worked for 26 years at BP in Cyprus, the United Kingdom and other European countries, having held various managerial positions within the company, including Cyprus’ Head of Country.
From 1st of October 2011 and until his appointment as Energy Minister, he was Managing Director and General Manager of VTT Vasiliko Ltd (VTTV), a subsidiary of Netherlands based VTTI B.V. Inter alia, during his tenure at VTTV he led a versatile team of professionals tasked with constructing and operating the oil storage terminal of the company at Vasilikos area.
Over the course of his career, he has accumulated extensive experience in the oil and gas industry, specifically in the fields of Supply and Logistics, Health, Safety and Environment, Operations and Engineering, Sales and Marketing, Company Governance and Compliance.
He has served as President of the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Organisation for Standardisation (CYS) and the Cyprus Certification Company, President of the Cyprus – Netherlands Business Association operating under the auspices of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Member of the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Employers and Industrialists Federation.
Mr. Papanastasiou was born in Nicosia on September 10th 1961.
He is married to Glykeria Michailidou, they have a son, Ignatius, and reside in Nicosia.