Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu
| Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu | |
|---|---|
| File:Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu.jpg | |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| Assumed office 16 April 2016 |
|
| Prime Minister | Hüseyin Özgürgün |
| Preceded by | Emine Çolak |
| Minister of Transport | |
| In office 16 July 2015 – 16 April 2016 |
|
| Prime Minister | Ömer Kalyoncu |
| Preceded by | Hasan Taçoy |
| Succeeded by | Kemal Dürüst |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1953 (age 70–71) Nicosia, Cyprus |
| Political party | National Unity Party |
| Alma mater | University of Arizona |
Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu (born 1953) is a Turkish Cypriot politician. He is a member of the Assembly of the Republic.
Early life and education
He was born in 1953 in Nicosia and studied political science in the University of Arizona, graduating in 1981. In 1983, he started working in the Northern Cyprus Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Defense.[1]
Political career
Between 1986 and 1991, he worked in the TRNC Representation in London, after which he was appointed as the undersecretary of the Prime Ministry, where he worked until 1994. He was re-appointed to the same post in 1996, afterwards, he also occupied the post of presidency in BRT.[2]
In the 1998 parliamentary election, he was elected as a member of the parliament from Lefkoşa District in the National Unity Party (UBP). Between 1999 and 2003, he served as the Turkish Cypriot Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defense. He was reelected in 2003, 2005, 2009 and 2013. Between 16 December 2006 and 29 November 2008, he was the president of the UBP.[2] On 15 March 2010,[2] he was expelled from the UBP due to his candidacy in the presidential election against the party's leader, Derviş Eroğlu. He received 3.81% of the popular vote in the election. Afterwards, a court ruling deemed his expulsion unlawful.[3] On 15 July 2011, he established his own party, the Democracy and Trust Party,[4] which he abolished in 2012 to rejoin the UBP. In 2014, he created controversy by calling Özdil Nami, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, "a child".[5] In July 2015, he became the Minister of Transport, in the cabinet under Ömer Kalyoncu.[6] He is Minister of Foreign Affairs since 16 April 2016.
Controversies
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In a controversial decision, Ertuğruloğlu on 20 May 2016 restricted Greek Orthodox communities to only hold a single religious service per year, with the exceptions of the Apostolos Andreas Monastery in Rizokarpaso, the Monastery of St. Barnabas in Famagusta and St. Mamas' Church in Morphou. The remaining churches could be used for one of the following three feasts: the church's Name Day, Easter or Christmas. The decision was criticised by the Turkish Cypriot group Famagusta Initiative as "chauvinist," but was defended by Turkish Resistance Organisation leader Yilmaz Bora, who was cited as saying "it was not possible to live with the Greek Cypriots in a United Cyprus, because the mentality of the Greek Cypriots has not changed in 53 years." Ertuğruloğlu's decision was also criticized by Burak Mavis of the Turkish Cypriot Teachers’ Trade Union (KTOS) who called out the whole debate as being driven by "a backwards and racist political mentality."[7]
Personal life
He is married with two children.[2]
References
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