page_title: Politics of Cyprus
section_title: Division of Cyprus
hierarchical_section_title: Politics of Cyprus / Division of Cyprus
caption_attribution_description: English: The capital Nicosia remains divided since 1974. A UN buffer zone separates the two sectors.
context_page_description: The Republic of Cyprus is a unitary presidential representative republic, whereby the President of Cyprus is both head of state and head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the parliament. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
  Cyprus has been a divided island since 1974 when Turkey invaded the north in response to a military coup on the island which was backed by the Athens government. Since then, the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus has controlled the south two-thirds, and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, only recognized by Turkey, the northern one-third. The Government of the Republic of Cyprus has continued as the sole internationally recognized authority on the island, though in practice its power extends only to the government-controlled area.
  Cyprus operates under a multi-party system, with communist AKEL and right-leaning Democratic Rally in the forefront. Centrist DIKO and lesser parties often form a coalition with the President's party and are allotted a number of ministries.
context_section_description: In 1974, following a coup sponsored by the Greek military junta of 1967-1974 and executed by the Cypriot National Guard the invasion of troops from Turkey (citing its authority as one of the three guarantor powers established by the Constitution), the Turkish Cypriots formally set up their own institutions with a popularly elected president and a prime minister, responsible to the National Assembly, exercising joint executive powers.  Cyprus has been divided, de facto, into the Greek Cypriot controlled southern two-thirds of the island and the Turkish-occupied northern third.  The Republic of Cyprus is the internationally recognised government of the Republic of Cyprus, that controls the southern two-thirds of the island. Aside from Turkey, all foreign governments and the United Nations recognise the sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus over the whole island of Cyprus.
  Turkey, which does not recognise the Republic of Cyprus, and the Turkish Cypriot administration of the northern part of the island, do not accept the Republic's rule over the whole island and refer to it not by its international name, but as the "Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus". Its territory, a result of the Turkish invasion of 1974 and whose status remains disputed, extends over the northern third of the island.
  The north proclaimed its independence in 1975. In 1983, the Turkish Cypriots declared an independent "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus", which has never been recognized by any country except Turkey.  In 1985, they adopted a constitution and held elections—an arrangement recognized only by Turkey.  For information pertaining to this, see Politics of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The Organisation of the Islamic Conference (now the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) granted it observer member status under the name of "Turkish Cypriot State".
caption: The capital Nicosia remains divided since 1973. The UN buffer zone separates the two sectors.
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 20D", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2005:12:07 23:06:39", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "178", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "9376", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "8346", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/125", "EXIF FNumber": "8", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "400", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2005:12:07 23:06:39", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2005:12:07 23:06:39", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "228255/32768", "EXIF ApertureValue": "6", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "28", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3504", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2336", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "9252", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "233600/59", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "233600/59", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}