Newly sworn in Agriculture Minister Christos Senekis pledged to deliver “tangible results” and build on the work of his predecessor Maria Panayiotou after being sworn in on Thursday as part of President Nikos Christodoulides’ cabinet reshuffle.

Speaking on behalf of the government’s newly appointed members at the presidential palace, Senekis said the appointments carried “a heavy responsibility” towards the country, its institutions and wider public.

“The mandate you are entrusting us with today is a supreme honour”, he said, adding that the government would work to implement Christodoulides’ programme “until the very end”.

He said that he is “fully aware of the challenges facing the country”.

He also paid tribute to outgoing ministers, saying they had left behind “important work and a valuable legacy”, before pledging that the new ministers would work “with all our might” to implement government policy while “defending the public interest”.

“Our only ambition and expectation is to have responded to the greatest possible extent to the expectations of the public and to leave behind a substantial, positive imprint,” he said.

Senekis takes over the agriculture ministry following Panayiotou’s departure after more than two and a half years in office.

Her tenure was dominated by a plethora of challenges including this year’s foot and mouth disease outbreak, disputes over compensation for affected livestock farmers and criticism over the government’s handling of last summer’s deadly Limassol wildfire.

Before entering government, Senekis served as a Diko MP between 2021 and 2026.

A lawyer, international relations graduate and computer scientist, he has also worked in the private sector and served as director of the parliamentary press office.