Emine Çolak (born 9 March 1958) is a

Turkish Cypriot Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( tr, Kıbrıs Türkleri or ''Kıbrıslı Türkler''; el, Τουρκοκύπριοι, Tourkokýprioi) are ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,00 ...

lawyer who served as the

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus ( tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs), officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC; tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti, ''KKTC''), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, isl ...

in the Kalyoncu cabinet between July 2015 and April 2016.

Early life

Çolak was born on 9 March 1958 in

Nicosia Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...

. She studied law at

SOAS, University of London SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury are ...

and graduated in 1979, earning the right to work as a barrister in 1980. She started running her law office in Nicosia in 1982 and worked on several administrative, family, commercial, property and human rights cases. She worked as a lawyer on contract in the Department of Promotion.

Career

Çolak founded the Turkish Cypriot Human Rights Association and was its chairperson when she was appointed as a minister. She served as a member of the Municipal Council of the

Nicosia Turkish Municipality Nicosia Turkish Cypriot Municipality ( tr, Lefkoşa Türk Belediyesi) is the governing body of North Nicosia province of TRNC. It was established in 1958 and was recognized by Article 173 of the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus. After 1974 a ...

between 1994 and 2002, and coordinated the law commission in preparation for the Annan Plan for Cyprus in 2003 and 2004. She took part in bi-communal efforts beginning from 1990 and participated in the Turkish-Greek Forum in 2002. As part of her contribution to non-governmental organizations, she undertook work in areas of children's rights, women's rights, LGBT rights, rights of patients and rights of refugees. She is among the founding members of the Turkish Cypriot Association of Arbitration, Initiative against Homophobia, Association for Patient Rights and Association for Refugee Rights. She also served as the chairperson of the executive board of Sim Radyo. She was appointed to the High Judiciary Council by President

Mehmet Ali Talat Mehmet Ali Talat (born 6 July 1952) is a Turkish Cypriot politician who served as the president of Northern Cyprus from 2005 to 2010. Talat was the leader of the social democratic Republican Turkish Party ( tr, Cumhuriyetçi Türk Partisi, CTP), ...

in 2007 and served till 2011. Upon her taking office as the Minister of Foreign Affairs on 16 July 2015 in the Kalyoncu cabinet, she became the first female Minister of Foreign Affairs of Northern Cyprus.

Personal life

Çolak has three children and speaks English and French.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colak, Emine 1958 births Foreign ministers of Northern Cyprus Government ministers of Northern Cyprus Living people People from Nicosia Female foreign ministers Turkish Cypriot expatriates in the United Kingdom Alumni of the University of London