Mehmet Ali Talat
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| Mehmet Ali Talat | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 20 April 2005 |
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| Preceded by | Rauf Raif Denktaş |
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| Born | July 6, 1952 Kyrenia |
| Nationality | Cypriot |
| Political party | RTP |
| Religion | Sunni Muslim (Hanafi-Maturidi) |
Mehmet Ali Talat (born July 6, 1952) is the current President of the de facto Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (or KKTC in Turkish), which controls the northern third of the island of Cyprus, but is unrecognized by any nation except Turkey. Because the UN does not recognize the TRNC it treats Mehmet Ali Talat as bona fide negotiator for the Turkish Cypriot community of the Republic of Cyprus. He was the leader of the left wing Republican Turkish Party (Cumhuriyetçi Türk Partisi). He became prime minister in 2004, and subsequently won the Presidential election held on 17 April 2005. Talat was inaugurated on 25 April 2005, succeeding retiring President Rauf Denktaş.
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[edit] Biography
Talat was born in Kyrenia on July 6, 1952. Completing his secondary education in Cyprus, Talat graduated from Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department of the Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara, Turkey.
Involved in various political activities since he was a university student, Talat continued after he returned to Cyprus, and played an important role in the establishment of Turkish Cypriot trade unions and the Turkish Cypriot Students' Youth Federation (KOGEF), becoming the first chairman of its executive board.
| Northern Cyprus |
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See also: Politics of Cyprus |
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He also participated in the youth movement of the Republican Turkish Party, and served in various committees and organs of the RTP for many years. He served as the party secretary for Education.
[edit] Political career in the TRNC
Talat was the Minister of Education and Culture in the first coalition government formed by the RTP-Democrat Party (DP) Alliance after the general elections of December 1993. He undertook the same post in the second DP-RTP coalition government, and became the Minister of State and Deputy Prime Minister in the third DP-RTP coalition government.
Talat was elected as the leader of the RTP on January 14, 1996, succeeding Ozger Ozgur. After being elected to the TRNC parliament on 14 December 2003, Talat formed another RTP-DP coalition government on January 13, 2004, at the behest of the then-TRNC President Rauf Denktaş, when the incumbent Prime minister Dervis Eroglu was unable to do so.
Winning a victory in the February 20, 2005 general elections, Talat formed the second RTP-DP coalition, serving as Prime Minister until his election as the second TRNC President on April 17, 2005, when he asked RTP Deputy Leader Ferdi Sabit Soyer to form a new government.
During the 2004 referendum on the Annan Plan to reunify Cyprus in advance of its entry to the European Union, Talat promoted a 'Yes' vote among Turkish Cypriots and the plan received overwhelming endorsement north of the Green Line. However, Tassos Papadopoulos, the President of Cyprus, opposed the plan and the Greek Cypriot community rejected it by a large majority. As a consequence, the plan was dropped, but the EU declared it would seek to implement trade concessions and other measures designed to alleviate the isolation of Northern Cyprus as a reward for the Turkish Cypriot referendum result. Talat remains publicly committed to reunification, although negotiations are not currently in progress on the issue.
President Talat is responsible for the reopening of the famous Church of Saint Mamas in Omorfo (Morphou), which houses the Tomb of the Saint. This is an important gesture because the practice of religion for both communities wherever they are on the island is significant freedom. The shrine hosts a Divine Liturgy on the saint's day on the 4th September each year.
Talat is married, and has two children.
[edit] 2006 Turkish Grand Prix controversy
Mehmet Ali Talat was controversially chosen to present the trophy to the winner of the Formula One 2006 Turkish Grand Prix, Felipe Massa. The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) investigated his involvement in the podium ceremony, believing his status as a leading political figure in an unrecognised state was contrary to its strict policy of neutrality.[1] It is believed the appointment was made at the last minute, and that Talat was described to the FIA as "a dignitary of international status", in order to prevent the FIA vetoing his involvement before the ceremony. The FIA had threatened a sanction of removal of the Turkish Grand Prix from the Formula One calendar, but instead imposed a fine of around EUR 4 million.[2]
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| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Rauf Denktaş |
President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus 2005– |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Preceded by Derviş Eroğlu |
Prime minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus 2004–2005 |
Succeeded by Ferdi Sabit Soyer |
