Emi Kasoulidou

Emi Kasoulidou, also known as Emy Kasoulides (Greek: Έμη Κασουλίδου), a Cypriot anaesthesiologist and the wife of former Foreign Minister Ioannis (Yiannakis) Kasoulides, died on September 19, 2026. She was 76. Philenews, Politis, Sigmalive and other Cypriot outlets reported her death after a long battle with cancer. President Nikos Christodoulides issued a written tribute the same morning, praising her scientific and civic life and offering condolences to her husband, their daughter Joanna, and the wider family.

Kasoulidou was a practising doctor, registered as an anaesthesiologist in Cyprus (medical registration number 1630 in public listings). She and Ioannis Kasoulides, who trained as a physician before entering politics, met while studying medicine in France. She chose a low public profile throughout her husband's intense political career, which included two terms as Minister of Foreign Affairs (1997-2003 and 2013-2018), nearly a decade in the European Parliament, and a 2008 presidential candidacy for DISY. Cypriot reporting repeatedly described her as a discreet presence at his side rather than a campaign figure in her own right.

The couple had one daughter, Joanna (Ioanna) Kasoulidou, a communications and public-relations professional in Nicosia, and two granddaughters, Emily and Katerina. Family life remained deliberately private even as Ioannis Kasoulides occupied senior state and European offices. In an older family birthday post shared by Joanna, friends and relatives toasted "Emi" at a traditional tavern, a glimpse of the ordinary celebrations that sat behind the public calendar of diplomacy.

Kasoulidou spoke publicly about her own cancer ordeal. A first diagnosis came in January 2011: despite a clear mammogram, ultrasound and biopsy revealed adenocarcinoma. She underwent surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and continued working in the operating theatre through nausea, vomiting and fever. Two years later, in January 2013, bleeding led to further tests; tumours were found in the ovary and uterus. She again faced chemotherapy and intensive abdominal radiotherapy, which left painful neuropathies that briefly made walking difficult. She scheduled infusions on Fridays so weekends could be used for recovery, and later said that work itself had been a support during treatment. She stressed prevention, early diagnosis, and the value of small daily pleasures.

Her funeral was set for Tuesday, September 22, 2026, at 10:00 at the Konstantinou and Elenis Cemetery in Nicosia, with the family receiving condolences from 09:00. In his statement, President Christodoulides called her a worthy scientist, devoted wife, affectionate mother and grandmother, and an active citizen who stood on the front line of struggles for a free, democratic, prosperous and inclusive homeland. "We will remember her with love and respect," he concluded. Across Cypriot media she was remembered less as a political spouse than as a doctor who kept working through illness and who faced repeated cancer with composure and humour.