Georgios (George) Vassiliou was born on 20th May 1931 in Famagusta to a family of doctors. His father was a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cyprus. George studied at the universities of Geneva, Vienna, and Budapest, earning a doctorate in economics. From Budapest, he moved to London in the late 1950s, and in 1962, he returned to Cyprus. He worked as a business development consultant and founded the Scientific Research Centre for Middle Eastern Market Studies (KEMA) in Nicosia, which was the largest research organisation of its kind in the region at the time.
In the February 1988 presidential elections, George Vassiliou ran as an independent candidate and was elected President of the Republic of Cyprus, receiving 51.6% of the votes.
During Vassiliou's presidency, Cyprus began to seriously discuss joining the European Union. Until then, it had been only an associate member, but on 4th July 1990, an official application for membership to the European Union was submitted. Around the same time, Cyprus began to take on the role of an Eastern Mediterranean business hub with political and economic ties, infrastructure, and a rapidly developing service sector.
Vassiliou's policies in Cyprus were generally well-received by the public, which is why he led by a significant margin (44.15 %) in the first round of the 1993 elections. However, unexpectedly for everyone, in the second round, Glafcos Clerides secured 0.6% more votes (50.3% against Vassiliou’s 49.7%).
In 1993, Vassiliou founded the Movement of Free Democrats (EDI) and was elected its chairman. In 1996, the party merged with the Movement for Social Democracy. The new party was named United Democrats.
From 1998 to 2003, George Vassiliou led the negotiations for Cyprus's accession to the European Union. In the following years, he actively participated in the work of the National Council under the President of Cyprus, wrote books and articles, gave lectures, and provided expert interviews.