Presidential Palace, Nicosia

The Presidential Palace, Nicosia, Cyprus, is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the Republic of Cyprus, created under British colonial administration in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and finished in the interwar period with architectural references to both British public building design and Byzantine forms. From its origins as the colonial commissioner’s dwelling through its role after independence, the site has served as the centre of civil administration and later as the highest executive residence in the country, placing it at the heart of several key political events in Cypriot modern history.

The first structure on this site was a prefabricated wooden house erected in November 1878 to accommodate the British High Commissioner; Garnet Wolseley lived temporarily at the Metochi of the Monastery of Kikkos before occupying that imported building. In 1925 that dwelling received the official title Government House under the colonial administration. During the October 1931 disturbances known as the 1931 Cyprus Revolt, the wooden building was destroyed by fire. On 21 December 1931 Governor Sir Ronald Storrs issued a law that required Greek Cypriot communities to contribute to a replacement Government House, setting a total levy of £34,315 due by 30 June 1932, with contributions apportioned among Nicosia (£14,000), Limassol (£5,500), Famagusta (£5,000), Larnaca (£2,000), Paphos (£500) and other villages (£6,315).

A new stone Government House was completed in 1937 at a reported cost of £70,000. The executed building displayed the British coat of arms on its façade and incorporated sculptural reliefs and gargoyles with human heads that referenced both local workers and the supervising foremen. Upon Cyprus’s independence in 1960 and the withdrawal of the British governor, the building was renamed the Presidential Palace of the Republic of Cyprus and became the official seat and residence of the head of state.

On 15 July 1974 the palace suffered severe fire damage during the coup d’état of that year; contemporary reports record that the president escaped through a small western door in the perimeter fencing and that the interior was consumed by fire while the external walls remained standing but charred. Reconstruction work was carried out in 1977 by the Public Works Department together with private contractors, with reconstruction costs covered by the Greek government. From 1979 the rebuilt complex resumed use as the president’s office and home. In May 2010 an energy-efficiency upgrade costing about €1.2 million was announced to lower the building’s carbon emissions, including installation of solar panels, improved ventilation and replacement windows. A further €2.7 million funded a new reception hall created for Cyprus’s 2012 presidency of the European Union, officially opened on 17 May 2012. On 1 October 2013 President Nicos Anastasiades unveiled the emblem of the Republic on the palace façade during the fifty-third anniversary of independence; the British coat of arms remained in the central position while the new national emblem was placed above it.