Mustafa Akıncı facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mustafa Akıncı
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Akıncı in 2015
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| 4th President of Northern Cyprus | |
| In office 30 April 2015 – 23 October 2020 |
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| Prime Minister | Özkan Yorgancıoğlu Ömer Kalyoncu Hüseyin Özgürgün Tufan Erhürman Ersin Tatar |
| Preceded by | Derviş Eroğlu |
| Succeeded by | Ersin Tatar |
| Deputy Prime Minister of Northern Cyprus | |
| In office 30 December 1998 – 8 June 2001 |
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| Preceded by | Serdar Denktaş |
| Succeeded by | Salih Coşar |
| Mayor of North Nicosia | |
| In office 1976–1990 |
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| Preceded by | Ziver Kemal |
| Succeeded by | Burhan Yetkili |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 December 1947 Limassol, British Cyprus |
| Political party | Communal Democracy Independent |
| Spouse | Meral Akıncı |
| Alma mater | Middle East Technical University |
| Profession | Architect |
Mustafa Akıncı (born 28 December 1947) is a Turkish Cypriot politician. He served as the president of Northern Cyprus from April 2015 to October 2020.
Before becoming president, Akıncı was an architect. In 1976, at just 28 years old, he became the first elected mayor of the Nicosia Turkish Municipality in Northern Cyprus. He held this important job for 14 years, until 1990. During his time as mayor, he worked on many projects for the city. These projects even won international awards, like the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. He also worked closely with the Greek Cypriot mayor of Nicosia.
Akıncı has always supported the idea of reuniting Cyprus. He has also spoken out against Turkey's growing influence in Northern Cyprus. This view was not popular with the Turkish government. They supported his opponent, Ersin Tatar, in the 2020 presidential election. Akıncı lost that election to Tatar.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Mustafa Akıncı was born in Limassol on 28 December 1947. He studied architecture at the Middle East Technical University. There, he met his wife, Meral Akıncı. He returned to Cyprus in 1973, and they got married in 1974. Their first child, Doğa, was born in 1975.
Political Journey
Becoming Mayor of Nicosia
In 1975, Akıncı was chosen to be part of the group that created the laws for Turkish Cypriots. In 1976, he ran for mayor of the Nicosia Turkish Municipality. He was supported by the Republican Turkish Party. Akıncı promised to make things more democratic. His campaign slogan was "An order of fraternity instead of an order of whips!"
He won the election against Nevzat Uzunoğlu, who was supported by the leader Rauf Denktaş. Akıncı received 48.99% of the votes. This made him the first elected mayor of the Nicosia Turkish Municipality. He served for 14 years, from 1976 to 1990. He was re-elected in 1980 and again in 1986.
During his time as mayor, he worked with the Greek-Cypriot Mayor of Nicosia, Lellos Demetriades. They worked together on important city projects, like the Nicosia Sewerage Project and the Nicosia Master Plan. The Nicosia Master Plan won the 'World Habitat Award' in 1989 and the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2007. In 2003, Akıncı and Demetriades received the 'Europa Nostra Medal of Honour'. This award recognized their efforts to protect Nicosia's history and buildings.
In 1983, Akıncı became the first president of the new Turkish-Cypriot Municipalities organization. In 1987, he became the leader of the Communal Liberation Party. He held this position until 2001.
Serving in Parliament and as Deputy Prime Minister
From 1993 to 2009, Akıncı was a member of the parliament of Northern Cyprus. In 1995, he ran for president as the candidate for the Communal Liberation Party. He came in fourth place.
On 30 December 1998, he was appointed as Minister of State and Deputy Prime Minister. He served in this role until 8 June 2001. He ran for president again in 2000 but did not win.
Akıncı and his party often disagreed with President Denktaş and the Turkish military. They had different ideas about the Cyprus dispute. Akıncı wanted talks between Greek and Turkish Cypriots to continue. He also believed the police should be under the government, not the military.
Starting the Peace and Democracy Movement
In 2003, Akıncı started a new political party called the Peace and Democracy Movement. This party aimed to reunite Cyprus based on the United Nations's Annan Plan. They also wanted a reunited island to join the European Union. Akıncı strongly believed in European integration.
Presidential Election in 2015
On 13 March 2015, Mustafa Akıncı officially applied to run for president. During his campaign, he talked about the town of Varosha. He suggested that negotiations could solve the problems there. Akıncı said, "Instead of living side by side [with] a corpse, let Varosha become a lively city where people live." He hoped it would be a place where people from both communities could work together.
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The presidential elections in Northern Cyprus took place on 19 April 2015. Mustafa Akıncı won 26.9% of the votes, coming in second place. He then went to a second round of voting against Derviş Eroğlu on 26 April 2015. Akıncı won this second round with 60.5% of the votes. He officially became the president of Northern Cyprus on 30 April 2015.
Akıncı wanted Northern Cyprus to be more independent from Turkey. This idea was not supported by the Turkish government. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan even had a live TV debate with Akıncı after his election. Many people thought Akıncı's election could help improve talks about the Cyprus problem. The President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades, welcomed Akıncı's win. He said it was "a hopeful development for our common homeland."
Re-election Campaign in 2020
Akıncı ran for re-election as an independent candidate in 2020. He announced his plans on 5 February 2020. He believed that a federal model was the best way to solve the Cyprus dispute. He stated, "We do not want to be a minority amongst Greek Cypriots, nor do we want to be a sub-administration dependent on Turkey." His campaign slogan was "The Answer is Akıncı."
Several political parties supported Akıncı's re-election. However, Akıncı claimed that the government of Turkey was actively trying to influence the elections against him. He said that Turkish politicians were telling people not to vote for him. He also mentioned receiving insults and threats. The Turkish embassy denied these claims.
On 9 October 2020, Akıncı stated that he had been threatened by Turkish authorities early in his campaign. He said someone linked to intelligence told his chief of staff it would be "better for Akıncı himself, his family and the nation" if he withdrew. He also revealed that his emails and those of his team had been hacked. The Turkish embassy strongly denied these threats.
Published Book
In 2010, Akıncı wrote a book called Belediye Başkanlığı'nda 14 yıl. This title means "Fourteen Years in the Mayoral Office." The book shares his experiences as the mayor of the Nicosia Turkish Municipality.
Efforts for Reunification
A few weeks after becoming president, Mustafa Akıncı began direct talks with Republic of Cyprus president Anastasiades. These talks started on 11 May 2015, and focused on reuniting Cyprus. Countries like the United Kingdom, Greece, and Turkey also joined these negotiations later. However, the talks ended without an agreement. Both sides blamed each other for the failure.
See also
In Spanish: Mustafa Akıncı para niños
