Mustafa Akıncı

Mustafa Akıncı
4th President of Northern Cyprus
Assumed office
30 April 2015
Prime Minister Özkan Yorgancıoğlu
Ömer Kalyoncu
Hüseyin Özgürgün
Preceded by Derviş Eroğlu
Mayor of North Nicosia
In office
1976–1990
Preceded by Ziver Kemal
Succeeded by Fuat Celalettin
Minister of State and Deputy Prime Minister
In office
30 December 1998 – 8 June 2001
Personal details
Born (1947-12-28) 28 December 1947
Limassol, British Cyprus
Political party Communal Democracy Party
Spouse(s) Meral Akıncı
Alma mater Middle East Technical
University
Website Official website

Mustafa Akıncı (Turkish pronunciation: [mustafa akɯnd͡ʒɯ]; born 28 December 1947) is a Turkish Cypriot politician and the fourth and current President of Northern Cyprus. He took office in April 2015.

An architect by profession, Akıncı became the first elected mayor of the Nicosia Turkish Municipality in 1976 at the age of 28, defeating a candidate endorsed by President Rauf Denktaş as the candidate of the Communal Liberation Party (TKP). He held this position for an uninterrupted term of 14 years until 1990, leading several projects for the city that won him international awards including the Aga Khan Award for Architecture and collaborating with his Greek Cypriot counterpart. Meanwhile, he rose to prominence and gained influence within his party, first becoming Secretary General and then leader in 1987. He served as a member of the Assembly of the Republic between 1993 and 2009 and as the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State between 1999 and 2001. His leadership of the TKP ended in 2001. He established the Peace and Democracy Movement in 2003 and served as its leader.[1]

Akıncı is a long-standing advocate of the reunification of Cyprus and has opposed Turkey's increasing influence in Northern Cyprus.

Early life

Akıncı was born in Limassol on 28 December 1947. He studied architecture at the Middle East Technical University, where he met his wife, Meral Akıncı. He returned to Cyprus in 1973 and the couple married in 1974. Their first child, Doğa, was born in 1975.[2][3]

Political career

Early political career and mayorship

In 1975, Akıncı was elected to the Constituent Assembly of Turkish Cypriots.[4] He ran as the candidate of the Communal Liberation Party for the mayorship of the Nicosia Turkish Municipality and was endorsed by the Republican Turkish Party in the Northern Cyprus local elections of 24 May 1976. He defeated his main rival, businessman Nevzat Uzunoğlu of the right-wing National Unity Party (UBP), who was endorsed by Rauf Denktaş, by a margin of 1500 votes, receiving 48.99% of the votes against Uzunoğlu's 31.81%.[5][6] Following this election, he became the first elected mayor of the Nicosia Turkish Municipality, and served for an uninterrupted term of 14 years from 1976 to 1990.[7] In the Northern Cyprus local elections of 1 June 1980, he was re-elected with 39.98% of the votes.[8] In the election for his third term, the Northern Cyprus local elections, 1986 of 2 June 1986, the UBP mounted a vigorous campaign to take the municipality. Akıncı still prevailed with 46.42% of the votes, against 40.93% of the votes for Ramiz Manyera, the UBP candidate.[9]

During his 14 years of Mayorship, he collaborated with the then Nicosia Greek Cypriot Mayor Lellos Demetriades on the implementation of the Nicosia Sewerage Project and the Nicosia Master Plan. The Nicosia Master Plan received the ‘World Habitat Award’ in 1989 and the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2007. Additionally, in 2003 Akıncı and Demetriades were awarded the prestigious ‘Europa Nostra Medal of Honour’ in recognition of their consistent and successful efforts for Nicosia and its citizens during particularly difficult times, and for the preservation of the historical and architectural environment of the Walled City.[4]

Akıncı also played a vital role in the establishment of the Union of Turkish Cypriot Municipalities, of which he then became the first president in 1983.[4] In 1987, he became the leader of the Communal Liberation Party, a position he would hold until 2001.[10] When TKP took part in the First Eroğlu cabinet headed by UBP leader Derviş Eroğlu in 1985, Akıncı, who was Secretary General of the party at the time, refused the formation of this government in the first place, and then vehemently opposed the economic package proposed by the Turkish government under Turgut Özal and agreed to by the UBP and some ministers of the TKP. According to reports at the time, he threatened agreeing ministers with referring them to the party's disciplinary committee and led the party to the opposition of the agreement, which produced friction that ended the government. Akıncı, meanwhile referred Erbilen, Minister of the Health at the time, to the party's disciplinary committee for his vitriolic remarks, which resulted in Erbilen's resignation from the party.[11][12]

Member of Parliament, Minister of State and failed presidential bids

Between 1993 and 2009, he served as an elected member of parliament in Northern Cyprus.[7] In the presidential election of 15 April 1995, Akıncı ran for presidency as the TKP candidate. He received 14.23% of the votes and came fourth behind independent Rauf Denktaş, UBP candidate Derviş Eroğlu and CTP candidate Özker Özgür.[13][14] On 30 December 1998, he became the Minister of State and Deputy Prime Minister in the Sixth Eroğlu cabinet under Prime Minister Derviş Eroğlu, as the head of TKP, the junior partner in the UBP-TKP coalition.[15] At this time, he was responsible for tourism.[10]

Akıncı ran for the presidency again in the presidential election of 15 April 2000 as the TKP candidate. He received 11.70% of the votes and came third behind independent Denktaş and UBP candidate Eroğlu, failing to progress to the run-off.[13]

He held his ministerial position until 8 June 2001, when the government fell apart.[15] The TKP led by Akıncı had significant friction with President Denktaş and Turkish military over the Cyprus dispute and some political issues. The TKP called for the continuation of talks between Greek and Turkish Cypriots and the placement of the police under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior rather than the existing military command. Akıncı stated in 2001 that the government had run smoothly except for two incidents and that the government fell due to the cooperation of Denktaş and Turkey; later in 2007, he revealed that the government fell due to the intervention of the military as a result of a crisis he had with it in 2000. He claimed that if not for this crisis, he might have had a chance at the presidency.[16][17][18]

Peace and Democracy Movement

In 2003, Akıncı established the social democratic Peace and Democracy Movement. The main aims of the party were the promotion of reunification of Cyprus based on the proposed Annan Plan and the consequent EU accession of a reunified Cyprus.[19] As of 2015, Akıncı continued to view European integration very favourably.[20]

2015 presidential bid

Poster promoting Mustafa Akıncı in Dereboyu Avenue, Northern Nicosia

On 13 March 2015, Mustafa Akıncı successfully completed his application to run for presidency.[21]

During his campaign, he spoke out regarding the ghost town of Varosha, which is a lively topic regarding the Cyprus problem. Akıncı called for negotiations to solve this problem. Regarding Varosha, Akıncı stated that, "Instead of living side by side a corpse let Varosha become a lively city where people live, contractors from both communities do business together and young people can find jobs".[22]

On 19 April 2015, the presidential elections took place in Northern Cyprus and Mustafa Akıncı won 26.9% of the votes, which put him second behind Derviş Eroğlu who got 28.2% of the votes. As a result, Akıncı advanced to the second round of the presidential elections, facing Derviş Eroğlu in the 26 April 2015 run-off.[23] He won this second round of the elections.[24][25]

Elected president with 60.5% of the vote, Akıncı was perceived as representing the 'brother nations' (kardeş vatan) outlook regarding relations with Turkey, as opposed to the 'young nation' (yavru vatan) outlook maintained by Turkey.[26] Akıncı's policy of increasing Northern Cyprus's independence from Turkey met with strong opposition from the Turkish government, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan having a phone-in debate with Akıncı on live TV soon after his election.[27] While Akıncı proposed greater independence from Turkey, the Turkish government was sceptical due to the large amount of financial and military aid that had been given to Northern Cyprus since the invasion in 1974.[28]

The Republic of Cyprus regarded his victory as positive as he has expressed the interest of holding discussions regarding the reunification of Cyprus[24][29] and the re-opening of Varosha in Famagusta for tourists.[29]

Publications

In 2010, Akıncı published his first book, Belediye Başkanlığı'nda 14 yıl (‘Fourteen Years in Mayoral Office’). This 479-page book aimed to summarise his experiences during his years as mayor of the Nicosia Turkish Municipality.[30]

References

  1. ↑ Presidential polls in north Cyprus Hurriyet Daily News, 1 October 2014
  2. ↑ "8 Maddede KKTC Cumhurbaşkanı Mustafa Akıncı" (in Turkish). Onedio. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  3. ↑ Kanatlı, Hüseyin (6 April 2013). "Meral Akıncı..." (in Turkish). Havadis. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 "Mustafa Akıncı Timeline - Mustafa Akıncı Resmi Web Sitesi". Retrieved 2015-04-04.
  5. ↑ Cemal, Akay (25 May 1976). "Denktaş'ın Adayı Lefkoşa Belediye Seçimini Kaybetti". Milliyet. p. 1.
  6. ↑ "Kıbrıs Türk Federe Devleti Resmi Gazete Ek III Tebliğ ve İlanlar" (PDF). TRNC High Election Committee. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Akinci: practical steps towards a solution". Cyprus Mail. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
  8. ↑ "Yüksek Seçim Kurulundan İlan" (PDF). TRNC High Election Committee. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  9. ↑ Cemal, Akay (25 May 1976). "Zafer, UBP'nin". Milliyet. p. 5.
  10. 1 2 "Mustafa Akıncı, KKTC Cumhurbaşkanı seçildi". T24. 26 April 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  11. ↑ "Erbilen: "TKP'yi kuran 15 kişiden biri de benim"". Haber Kıbrıs. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  12. ↑ Cemal, Akay (16 July 1986). "KKTC hükümeti istifanın eşiğinde". Milliyet. p. 5.
  13. 1 2 "Cumhurbaşkanlığı Seçim Tarihçesi…" (in Turkish). Yeni Düzen. 27 March 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  14. ↑ James Ker-Lindsay & Hubert Faustmann (2008) The Government and Politics of Cyprus, Peter Lang, p. 268.
  15. 1 2 "6. Eroğlu Hükümeti". National Unity Party. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  16. ↑ "Başbakan Yardımcısı Akıncı'dan Cumhurbaşkanı Denktaş'a suçlama". Milliyet. 24 May 2001. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  17. ↑ Basri Akter, Aysu (25 March 2007). "Mustafa Akıncı: Artık aday olmayacağım". Kıbrıs. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  18. ↑ "HÜKÜMET OYUNLARI ( III )". Havadis. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  19. ↑ "The Europeanisation of Contested Statehood". google.co.uk. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  20. ↑ George Kyris. "Is Mustafa Akinci the best hope yet for a solution to the Cyprus problem?". the Guardian. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  21. ↑ "Akıncı adaylık başvurusunu saat 09.00'da yapacak". Retrieved 2015-04-04.
  22. ↑ "Ak�nc�: "Let Varosha become a lively town"". Retrieved 2015-04-04. replacement character in |title= at position 3 (help)
  23. ↑ "EUROPE - Turkish Cypriot leader ahead after first round of vote". Retrieved 2015-04-23.
  24. 1 2 "Turkish Cypriots elect new leader for breakaway enclave". Yahoo News. 26 April 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  25. ↑ "Leftist Akinci wins north Cyprus election, seeking peace deal". Reuters UK. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  26. ↑ "KKTC'de 'Kardeş Vatan' Anlayışı Seçildi". Amerika'nin Sesi - Voice of America - Turkish. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  27. ↑ "Yavru vatan polemiğine Kuzu da katıldı: Sayın Akıncı neyine güveniyor anlamadım". www.haberturk.com. 29 April 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  28. ↑ "Erdoğan ve Akıncı arasında 'yavru vatan' polemiği". BBC Türkçe. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  29. 1 2 "Will Turkish-Cypriot community election result turn the tables in the Cyprus problem?". euGreeka. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  30. ↑ "Belediye Başkanlığı'nda 14 yıl". Goodreads. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
Political offices
Preceded by
Derviş Eroğlu		 President of Northern Cyprus
2015–present 		Incumbent
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