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History and Government
History: The turbulent history of the island can be traced back over 8000 years. Like many Mediterranean islands, Cyprus has long been seen as an important strategic base and has suffered a variety of occupations. The Athenians, the Persians, the Egyptians, Alexander the Great and the Romans were the most important invaders during the ancient period, but after the partition of the Roman Empire in the fourth century AD the island became part of the Eastern Byzantine Empire. It was subsequently a temporary casualty of the Arab invasions between 648 and 746. During the Third Crusade, Richard I of England conquered Cyprus and installed Guy of Lusignan (previously King of Jerusalem), whose house ruled until the island passed to the control of Venice in 1489. From 1571, the Ottomans ruled Cyprus for over three centuries, before ceding it to Britain in 1878. Independence was achieved in August 1960 after a four-year military struggle between the UK and the guerrillas of EOKA (National Organisation of Cypriot Fighters) who sought 'enosis', union with Greece, which was anathema to the Turkish community.
The political leader of the liberation movement, Archbishop Makarios (head of the island's Greek Orthodox church) returned from exile and was elected President in December 1959. The island's new constitution was an elaborate compromise between the British and the rival Greek and Turkish communities, between whom considerable distrust remained. The crisis came to a head in 1974 when Makarios was deposed by a military coup on July 15 (allegedly backed by the military regime then in power in Greece). Five days later, Turkish troops arrived on the northern coast of Cyprus, having been 'invited'by the Turkish Cypriot leader, Rauf Denktash, to intervene to protect the Turkish community on the island. The Greeks failed to respond effectively, not least because of the simultaneous collapse of the military junta in Athens, besides which the Greek-Cypriot-controlled National Guard was insufficiently equipped to combat a fully mobilised army. After the Turkish army had taken control of the northern third of the island, a ceasefire was arranged under UN auspices. The island has since remained partitioned and United Nations forces maintain a truce between the two sides.
In November 1983 the Turkish part of the island proclaimed itself the 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus'(TRNC, Kuzey Kibris Turk Cumhuriyeti), but recognition of the self-styled country has been granted only by Turkey and various other statelets (for example, the Azeri enclave of Nakhichevan). For the rest of the international community, the legitimate government of Cyprus (Kiprikai Demokratika) is the Greek-Cypriot administration in Nicosia. This is currently led by President Glafkos Clerides, who was elected to office in February 1993 and narrowly re-elected in February 1998. The latest election for the Greek-Cypriot legislature, the House of Representatives, was held in May 1996. AKEL (Communist Party) increased its representation to 19 seats, just behind the 20 seats won by the conservative-liberal alliance of DISY and Komma Phileleftheron. The Democratic Party (DIKO) with ten seats continues to hold the balance of power and has consistently sided with DISY to produce a working majority in the assembly. The principal issue for the Greek-Cypriot government remains the same; how to normalise relations with the 'TRNC', and ideally reunify the island.
Numerous UN-sponsored attempts to reach a political settlement have ended in failure; the main sticking points are: the balance and concentration of power within any unified government; Turkish troop concentrations in the north; and the return of property relinquished by Greek refugees and since occupied by Turkish settlers. The 'TRNC'is run by Rauf Denktash, the dominant political figure in the enclave for the last 25 years; in the last decade, he has twice been re-elected as president in April 1995 and April 2000 with comfortable majorities on both occasions. A future settlement may depend ultimately on the European Union, which both Cyprus and Turkey wish to join; however, both sides know that a political solution is a virtual precondition.
Government: The 1960 constitution, which allowed for a population-determined sharing of power between the Turkish and Greek communities, officially remains in force, but in practice the state organs it established are duplicated in the two zones. Thus executive power in the Republic of Cyprus is vested in a President, elected every five years by universal adult suffrage. He is assisted by a Council of Ministers. A 56-seat parliament (Vouli Antiprosopon) is also elected by universal adult suffrage every five years. A similar system also operates in the self-styled 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus'. The legislative assembly (Temsilciler Mecsili) has 50 members elected by proportional representation to serve a five-year term. The executive President is also elected for a five-year term.
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