Serdar Denktaş
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Serdar Denktaş (in English often spelled Serdar Denktash) is the one surviving son of Rauf Denktaş, the former President of the de facto Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
He recently served as the TRNC Deputy Prime Minister and TRNC Minister of Foreign Affairs until 27 September 2006, when he was replaced in both portfolios by Reform Party (Norhtern Cyprus) Leader Turgay Avcı.
Currently he is the leader of the Democratic Party. He is viewed to be a more pragmatic politician than his father, but in his public image, his acne facial scars, his trademark beard stubble and unkempt hair shows an interesting side to his character.
He was born in Nicosia (Turkish: Lefkoşa) in 1959. After completing a course in printing at the London College of Printing in the United Kingdom, he entered University College, Cardiff, to study Economics. However, he did not succeed in completing his studies and returned to Cyprus. He served as the General Manager of the Credit Bank of Cyprus.
In the 1990 General Elections he was elected to the TRNC Parliament as a National Unity Party MP for Nicosia, and served as the Minister of the Interior, Rural Affairs and Environment. He resigned from the NUP in 1992 and took part in the formation of the Democratic Party.
In the 1993 General Elections he was re-elected to his seat as a Democratic Party MP. He served in that government as the Minister of Youth and Sports. He became the leader of the Democratic Party in 1996. He served briefly as Minister of State and Deputy Prime Minister until the formation of a new coalition government.
He was re-elected to the TRNC Parliament at the 1998 General Elections. In 1991, he was appointed Minister of Tourism and Environment. At the general elections in 2003, he was re-elected and appointed as the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs until September 2006, when the Democratic Party was dropped as a coalition partner by the Republican Turkish Party.
He speaks Turkish and English.
