President of Northern Cyprus

The President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is the head of state of the TRNC. Rauf Denktaş was the first and founding president of Northern Cyprus, and retired in 2005. His position was taken over by Mehmet Ali Talat, followed by Derviş Eroğlu and the current president, Mustafa Akıncı.

The president is elected every five years. Presidential elections are held in two rounds if no candidate gains more than 50% of the votes in the first round. It is necessary that the president is originated from the island of Cyprus. It is also necessary that he/she has lived in the country for five years, has received secondary education and he/she is over 30 years old.

The presidency is not a ceremonial position in the semi-presidential political system of Northern Cyprus. The President reserves the right to dismiss the Assembly of the Republic in case a government cannot be formed within sixty days or three successive governments receive votes of no confidence. He or she also can preside over the Council of Ministers if he or she wishes to do so, approves the appointments of the judges and president of the Supreme Court and has the right to send laws approved by the Assembly of the Republic to the Supreme Court. The President has also traditionally been the chief negotiator for the resolution of the Cyprus dispute and been responsible for the foreign relations of Northern Cyprus.

The president is represented by the speaker of the Assembly of the Republic when the president is abroad.