Vasiliki Kassianidou

Vasiliki Lina Kassianidou (; born 26 October 1967) is a Cypriot archaeologist and politician. She was appointed Deputy Minister of Culture in 2023.

Early life and education Kassianidou was born in London, England and grew up in Lefkosia, Cyprus. She is the daughter of Gloria Kassianides, owner of the oldest art gallery in Cyprus.

Kassianidou studied a double major of Chemistry and Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, United States, graduating with distinction in 1989. She then studied a PhD in Archaeometallurgy at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London, in London, England. Her research specialises in ancient mining in Cyprus and copper metallurgy.

Career From 1994, Kassianidou taught Environmental Archaeology and Archaeometry at the Department of History and Archaeology of the University of Cyprus (UCy). From 2014 to 2023, Kassianidou was a member of the Board of Directors of the Cyprus National Commission for UNESCO. The Antiquities department fell under the Ministry of Culture from that month.

In office, Kassianidou has visited the Hellenic Centre and the British Museum in London and has discussed cultural cooperation opportunities with the Japanese ambassador. Over 100,000 Cypriot cultural artifacts have been digitised as part of the Digitising the Museums of Cyprus project (CADiP).

In December 2023, Kassianidou announced that Cyprus and seven other countries had "midwifery: knowledge, skills, and practices" registered on UNESCO's list of intangible culture heritage. Also that month, the federation of theatre institutions called for her to resign as Deputy Minister over arts funding.

In June 2025, an architecture booklet linked to Cyprus’ participation in the 19th International Architecture Biennale in Venice, Italy, was withdrawn after Kassianidou was referred to as a publisher of the book without her knowledge or consent.

In February 2026, Kassianidou announced mosaic conservation and upgrades to the Tombs of the Kings at the archaeological site of Nea Paphos.