George Vassiliou served as President of the Republic of Cyprus from 1988 - 1993. Following his term as President he became a member of Parliament from 1996 to 1999. He is the Chairman of the Middle East Marketing Research Bureau, a major market research, marketing and economic consultancy organization. He also serves as a chairman of Ledra and Innovation/Leo Burnett Advertising Companies. He recently authored The Accession Story: The Enlargement of the EU from 15 to 25 Members. Dr. Vassiliou received an M.A. and a Ph.D. from the University of Economics in Budapest.