Mehmet Ali Talat
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Mehmet Ali Talat (July 6, 1952) is the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, a de facto state which controls the northern third of the island of Cyprus. He is leader of the left wing Republican Turkish Party (Cumhuriyetçi Türk Partisi), and is in favour of reunification of the island under a federal structure, in order that Cyprus may join the European Union as a united island. He was appointed Prime Minister in 2004 and elected President on April 17, 2005, being formally inaugurated on April 25.
Biography
Talat was born in Girne (Kyrenia) on July 6, 1952. Completing his secondary education in Cyprus, Talat graduated from the Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara, Turkey.
After returning to Cyprus, Talat, who was a qualified electrical engineer, opened his own business on cooling system installation and maintenance.
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 unions and the Turkish Cypriot Students' Youth Federation (KOGEF),becoming the first chairman of it's executive board. Talat is fluent in English as well as Turkish.
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.
Political Career in TRNC
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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. After being elected a member of the TRNC parliament from Nicosia on December 14, 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.
Talat is married with two children.
Link
TRNC Presidency (http://www.trncpresidency.org)
| Preceded by: Rauf Denktaş | President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus 2005– | Succeeded by: Incumbent
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