Rauf Denktaş

Rauf Denktaş
Rauf Raif Denktaş (27 January 1924 – 13 January 2012) was a Turkish Cypriot politician, barrister and jurist who served as the founding president of Northern Cyprus. He occupied this position as the president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus between the declaration of the de facto state by Denktaş in 1983 and 2005, as the president of the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus between 1975 and 1983 and as the president of the Autonomous Turkish Cypriot Administration between 1974 and 1975. He was also elected in 1973 as the vice-president of the Republic of Cyprus.
Early life and career
Denktaş was born in Paphos to judge Raif Mehmet Bey and Emine 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 Istanbul and London, training first as a teacher and then as a barrister at Lincoln's Inn. He graduated in 1947 and returned home to practice law.
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. He was a crown prosecutor 1949–1958.
1957–1999
In 1957, Denktaş played the lead role in the founding of the Turkish Resistance Organization (TMT), which 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 London and Zurich Agreements (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 forcefully 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. In the 1973 vice presidential elections he replaced Fazıl Küçük.
After the 15 July 1974 Greek ultra-nationalist military coup in Cyprus, fearing for the safety of the Turkish Cypriot population, Turkey unilaterally invaded by landing troops on the north coast of Cyprus. During the military operation, the dictatorship led by Nikos Sampson fell and political wrangling began. After three weeks, Turkey continued to advance military operation. The Turkish Army took control of 37% of the island by the time it completed its second advance on 14 August 1974 and reached Famagusta. Denktaş was subsequently elected speaker of the legislature in 1975, and then 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.
The TRNC has not been recognised by any state other than Turkey. Denktaş had been the chief negotiator of Turkish Cypriots in the United Nations sponsored peace talks since 1968.
Later career
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 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 Papadopoulos, 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.
Personal life and awards
Denktaş's favourite pastimes included photography and writing. His photographs have been exhibited in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Italy, some of the 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 People"), published by Fazıl 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, Northern Cyprus and the United States. He was married to Aydın Denktaş (1933–2019) for 63 years and had three sons and three daughters. He lost a daughter at the age of three, one son, Raif in a traffic accident and another son in a tonsillectomy. His surviving son Serdar Denktaş is also a politician, and as of 2019, leader of the Turkish Cypriot Democratic Party.
Illness, death and funeral
Denktaş's health gradually deteriorated throughout the 2000s. He had a heart condition and on 25 May 2011 suffered a stroke. He died on 13 January 2012 of multiple organ failure at the Near East University Hospital in Nicosia. Northern Cyprus declared seven days' mourning, while Turkey declared five days'. His funeral was held on 17 January, with thousands of attendees. He was buried in the Cumhuriyet Park ("Park of the Republic").
Books by Denktaş
Saadet Sırları – Secrets of Happiness, 1941
Ateşsiz Cehennem – Hell without Fire, 1944
Criminal Cases, 1953–54
A Handbook of Criminal Cases, 1955
12'ye 5 Kala – 5 to 12, 1964–66
The Cyprus Problem, 1968
The Akritas Plan, 1968
A Short Discourse on Cyprus, 1972
Gençlerle Başbaşa – Alone with Youngsters, 1981
The Cyprus Triangle, 1982
Gençlerle Hasbihal – Conversation with the Youth, 1982
Cyprus Problem in a Nutshell, 1983
Gençlere Öğütler – Advice to the Youth, 1985
Kadın ve Dünya – Woman and The World, 1985
Kuran'dan İlhamlar – Inspiration from The Qur'an, 1986
İmtihan Dünyası – A World of Examination, 1986
Yarınlar İçin – For Tomorrow, 1986
UN Speeches on Cyprus, 1986
Seçenekler ve Kıbrıs Türkleri – The Options and The Turkish Cypriots, 1986
Cyprus, An Indictment and Defence, 1987
The Cyprus Problem 23rd Year, 1987
My Vision for Cyprus, 1988
Atatürk, Din ve Laiklik – Atatürk, Religion and Laïcité, 1989
Gençlerle Sohbet – Discussion with Youth, 1990
Kıbrıs'ta Bitmeyen Kavga – Unending Fight in Cyprus, 1991
Kıbrıs Davamız – Our Cyprus Issue, 1991
İlk Altı Ay – The First Six Months, 1991
What is the Cyprus Problem, 1991
A Challenge on Cyprus, 1990–91
Denktaş As A Photographer, Images From Northern Cyprus, 1991
The Cyprus Problem and the Remedy, 1992, Nicosia (Lefkoşa)
From My Album, 1992
O Günler – Those days, 1993, Nicosia
Images From Northern Cyprus, 1993
Vizyon – The Vision, 1994, Nicosia
Kapılar – The Doors, 1995, Nicosia
Observations on the Cyprus Dispute, 1996
Kıbrıs Meselesinde Son Durum – The Latest Situation in Cyprus Issue, 1996, Nicosia
Rum Yunan İkilisi: İstenmeyen Cumhuriyetten Nereye? – Cypriot Greek Duo: Where to from the Unwanted Republic, 1996, Nicosia
Karkot Deresi – Karkot Stream, 1996
Rauf Denktaş'ın Hatıraları, 1964–74, I. cilt (1964) – Memoirs of Rauf Denktaş, 1964–74, volume I (1964), 1996
Rauf Denktaş'ın Hatıraları, 1964–74, II. cilt (1965), 1997
Rauf Denktaş'ın Hatıraları, 1964–74, III. cilt (1966), 1997
Rauf Denktaş'ın Hatıraları, 1964–74, IV. cilt (1967), 1997
Rauf Denktaş'ın Hatıraları, 1964–74, V. cilt (1968), 1997
Rauf Denktaş'ın Hatıraları, 1964–74, VI. cilt (1969), 1997
Rauf Denktaş'ın Hatıraları, 1964–74, VII. cilt (1970), 1997
Kalbimin Sesi – The voice of my heart, 1997
In Search of Justice, 1997
Rauf Denktaş'ın Hatıraları, 1964–74, VIII. cilt (1971–72), 1998
Rauf Denktaş'ın Hatıraları, 1964–74, IX. cilt (1973–74), 1999
Hatıralar, Toplayış, X. cilt – Memoirs, Putting It Together, vol X, 2000
Note: The translations of the titles in Turkish is not necessarily the actual English title
References
Notes
Further reading
Pierre Oberling, The Road to Bellapais (1982)
Tozun Bahcheli, Greek-Turkish Relations since 1955 (1990)
Kyriacos Markides, The Rise and Fall of the Cyprus Republic (1977)
Rauf Denktash, The Cyprus Triangle (London, 1982)
Yvonne Cerkez, Rauf Denktas A Private Portrait (2014)
External links
Biography of Denktaş in TRNC Presidency website
Audio extract of Denktaş in a 2008 Voice of America interview with Nathan Morley
1924 births
2012 deaths
20th-century presidents of Northern Cyprus
20th-century prime ministers of Northern Cyprus
Members of Lincoln's Inn
Non-fiction crime writers
20th-century Cypriot lawyers
Vice presidents of Cyprus
Turkish Cypriot political writers
People from Nicosia
People from Paphos
Presidents of Northern Cyprus
Speakers of the Assembly of Northern Cyprus
Cypriot people of the Cyprus Emergency
Deaths from multiple organ failure
Cypriot expatriates in England
Turkish Cypriot expatriates in Turkey
Turkish Cypriot expatriates in the United Kingdom