Cyprus’s Council of Ministers has appointed Lieutenant General Emmanuel Theodorou as Chief of the General Staff of the National Guard, replacing Lieutenant General Georgios Tsitsikostas, whose term ends on October 8, 2025.
The decision was announced by Cyprus’ Minister of Defence Vasilis Palmas, confirming the new Chief’s term will commence 9 October 2025 and last until 8 October 2027.
Palmas thanked the current Chief, Lieutenant General Tsitsikostas, “for the impeccable and excellent cooperation we have had over the past two years”, highlighting at the same time his ” ethos, knowledge and abilities”.
Asked about the profile of the new Chief of the National Guard, the Defence Minister said that they opted for a slightly different approach.
“The practice followed until now was that a Lieutenant General who was already retired was selected to become the Chief of the National Guard in Cyprus. Today, an active Lieutenant General will be selected, who is retiring to continue his service in the Cyprus Army.
“It is a policy that the Ministry of National Defence of Greece has now chosen to have, it is a good practice, I would say.”
In response to a question about the selection process for the Chief of the National Guard, Mr. Palmas said that views are being exchanged between the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Cyprus and the Ministry of National Defence of Greece.
“Of course, there is an understanding and an exchange of views, if you will, on a verbal level, about two or three options that emerge as the most appropriate at a given moment, and from those two or three options, which of course are made on an informal level, one of them is chosen.”
Lieutenant General Emmanuel Theodorou was until recently Commander of the ASDEN (Supreme Military Command for the Interior and Islands) in Greece.
He is succeeded in this position, by decision of the Government National Security Council (KYSEA), by Lieutenant General Dimitrios Vakentis, while Major General Antonios Theodosiadis was appointed commander of the Supreme Military Command for Army Support (ASDYS).
Emmanuel Theodorou was born in 1967 in Komotini.
He entered the Military Cadet School in 1984, from which he graduated in 1988 with the rank of Second Lieutenant of Infantry.
As a junior officer, he served in Expeditionary Units with the duties of Platoon Leader and Company Commander, as well as in the Military Cadet School as a Platoon Leader.
He attended all the required schools of his Service, as well as the NATO Terminology school.
In 2004, he studied at the Higher Interbranch War School in Thessaloniki and in 2013, he was selected to study at the National Defence Academy in Greece.
During his career as a senior officer, he was assigned as Deputy Commander in a Mechanised Infantry Battalion and served as a staff officer in the 79th Infantry Division, the 7th Motorised Infantry Battalion and the General Staff.
In 2008, he was assigned the duties of Commander of the 239th Infantry Regiment, while in 2012 he was appointed Chief of Staff of the 79th Infantry Regiment.
In 2014, he was appointed Commander of the Hellenic Armed Forces in Cyprus. In 2018, he was promoted to the rank of Major General and appointed Director of the General Staff/A1. In 2019, he was assigned the duties of Commander of the 80th Hellenic Armed Forces. In 2020, he was appointed Director of the General Staff/B2.
In 2021, he was promoted to Major General and appointed Commander of the 95th Hellenic Air Defense Brigade. In 2022, he was assigned the duties of Deputy Commander of the Hellenic Air Defense Brigade. In 2023, he was appointed to the General Staff as Director of the 1st Branch. In 2024, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General and appointed Commander of the Hellenic Air Defense Brigade.
Lieutenant General Emmanuel Theodorou has been awarded all the required decorations, medals and mementos. He is fluent in English and French. He is married and has two children.
*With information from the Cyprus News Agency
