| Petros Clerides | |
| Birth Date: | 20 February 1946 |
| Birth Place: | Nicosia, Cyprus |
| Education: | Pancyprian Gymnasium |
| Alma Mater: | University of Athens |
| Office: | Attorney General of Cyprus |
| Term Start: | 2005 |
| Term End: | 2013 |
| Successor: | Costas Clerides |
| Boards: | RCB Bank |
Petros Clerides (born 20 February 1946) is the former attorney general of Cyprus. He resigned in 2013, after widespread criticism of his handling of high-profile cases.
Petros Clerides was born on 20 February 1946 in Nicosia.[1] He was educated at the Pancyprian Gymnasium, and the University of Athens, where he graduated in 1969 with a bachelor's degree in law.[1]
Clerides was appointed deputy attorney general of Cyprus in 2000,[2] and attorney general in 2005, resigned in June 2016, effective in September, and was replaced with Supreme Court judge Costas Clerides.[3] [4]
Clerides had faced calls to resign after reports that he had used his position to have a drink-driving prosecution against his son suspended. His son was over the alcohol limit, and the car did not have a MOT or road tax.[4] Clerides "openly admitted on television that he had used his nolle prosequi powers to drop charges against his son related to driving offences."[2]
Clerides was also criticised for his handling of the 2005 Helios air crash and Mari explosion trials, and over comments he made about an attempt to publicly seize a ministerial car for an unpaid government debt.[2]
He is married to Danae Michaelidou, and they have two sons, both of whom are lawyers.[1]