| Rauf Raif Denktaş | |
|---|---|
| 1st President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus | |
| In office 1983 – 24 April 2005 |
|
| Preceded by | New office |
| Succeeded by | Mehmet Ali Talat |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 27, 1924 Paphos, Cyprus |
| Nationality | Turkish Cypriot |
| Political party | National Unity Party |
| Spouse(s) | Aydın Denktaş |
| Occupation | Politician, political writer |
| Religion | Sunni Islam |
Rauf Raif Denktaş (or Denktash) (born 27 January 1924) is the founder and the first president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), a de facto state which is only recognized by Turkey. He was the first President of the TRNC, holding that position from 1983 to 2005.
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Denktaş was born in Paphos to judge Raif Mehmet Bey (1882-1941) and Enime Hanim, Turkish Cypriots. He graduated from The English School, Nicosia in Cyprus. Following his graduation he worked as a translator in Famagusta after that as a court clerk and then as a teacher for one year in the English School. He later went to London and trained first as a teacher and then as a barrister at Lincoln's Inn. He graduated in 1947 and returned home to practise as a lawyer.
In 1948 Denktaş served as a member of the Consultative Assembly in search of self-government for Cyprus and became a member of the Turkish Affairs Committee. In 1949 he started working as a crown prosecutor, where he remained until 1958.
In 1957, Denktaş helped found the Turkish Resistance Organization (TMT), an organization, that was formed to resist EOKA's struggle to proclaim Enosis (union with Greece) and worked for the partition of Cyprus. In 1958, he attended the U.N. General Assembly on behalf of the Turkish-Cypriots, and in December of that year he advised the Turkish Government on the rights of Turkish Cypriots during the preparation of the Zürich Agreement (signed 19 February 1959). In 1960, Cyprus won independence from Britain, and the Republic of Cyprus was established. Denktaş was elected as the President of the Turkish Communal Chamber.
In November 1963 President Makarios gave for review to Turkey, Greece and Britain a document with a series of constitutional amendments designed to loosen the acquired rights of Turkish Cypriots in the name of "the workings of the state". Then the paramilitary action against the Turks began in December 1963, after which Turkish-Cypriots forcedly withdrew from government. Upon these events, Denktaş went to Ankara for consultations with the Turkish government. His reentry to the island was prohibited by the Greek-Cypriot leadership in years 1964-68 due to his involvement with TMT.
After the 15 July 1974 Greek ultra-nationalist military coup in Cyprus, Turkey unilaterally invaded by landing troops on the north coast of Cyprus. Although during the military operation the dictatorship fell and constitutional order was restored to Cyprus, Turkey continued to advance. The Turkish Army took control 37% of the island by the time it completed its second advance on 14 August 1974 and reached Famagusta. Denktaş was subsequently elected President of the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus in 1976 and for a second term in 1981.
He played a key role in the 1983 Unilateral Declaration of Independence of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, and was elected as the President of the TRNC in 1985, 1990, 1995, and 2000.[1]
The TRNC has never been recognised by the United Nations or any state other than Turkey. Denktaş has been the chief negotiator of Turkish Cypriots in the United Nations sponsored peace talks since 1968.
By 2000, the desire of both Cyprus and Turkey to join the EU led to renewed efforts to reach a settlement. In 2002 there were large demonstrations in northern Cyprus by Turkish Cypriots demanding reunification of the island, which would give them EU citizenship when Cyprus joined the EU in 2004. In December 2003 Denktaş's party suffered heavy losses in legislative elections, suggesting that his days as the unchallenged leader of the Turkish Cypriots were coming to an end.
In February 2004 Denktaş embarked on a new round of UN sponsored talks with the Greek Cypriots, aimed at re-uniting Cyprus. Ultimately, as did the Greek Cypriot President Tassos Papadopulous, he opposed the final version of the settlement proposal drafted under the authority of the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan (the Annan Plan), which was voted on by the two Cypriot communities in a referendum on 24 April 2004. The plan was accepted by 65% of the Turkish community, but was rejected by a vast majority of the Greeks.
On 14 May 2004, Denktaş announced he would not be standing for a fifth term as President of the TRNC in the next election. His tenure as President came to an end following the 17 April 2005 election of Mehmet Ali Talat, who formally assumed office on 25 April.[2]
His favourite pastimes include photography and writing. His photographs have been in exhibitions in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Italy, former republics of the Soviet Union, Poland, France, Austria and Turkey. He has written about fifty books in English and Turkish. Between the years 1949 and 1957 he wrote many articles for the newspaper Halkın Sesi (Voice of the Nation), published by Dr Fazil Küçük, the first Vice President of the Republic of Cyprus.
Denktaş has been the recipient of many awards and honorary doctorates given by various universities in Turkey, the 'TRNC' and the United States. He is married and has one son and two daughters. He lost one son in a traffic accident and another son in a tonsillectomy. His surviving son Serdar Denktaş is also a politician, and as of 2007, leader of the northern Cypriot Democratic Party.
Denktaş is an honorary member of The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation.
Note: The translations of the titles in Turkish is not necessarily the actual English title
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Fazıl Küçük |
Leader of the Turkish Cypriots 18 February 1973 – 24 April 2005 |
Succeeded by Mehmet Ali Talat |
| Preceded by None |
President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus 1983–2005 |
Succeeded by Mehmet Ali Talat |