Fazıl Küçük (; el, Φαζίλ Κιουτσούκ; 14 March 1906 – 15 January 1984) was a Turkish Cypriot politician who served as the first Vice President of the

Republic of Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

Biography

Fazıl Küçük, the son of a farmer, was born 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 Mesaori ...

in 1906. After graduating from the Turkish High School in Nicosia, Küçük went on to study medicine at the Universities of

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR ...

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. Having returned to Cyprus in 1937, he started a practice, but his interest in politics soon led to him to become a voice for Turkish Cypriot rights. In 1941 Küçük founded the newspaper ''Halkın Sesi'' (The Voice of the People) and became the managing editor. Due to his campaign against the British colonial administration, his paper was not given a permit for publication until 1942, the paper is still being published to this day. In 1943, he became one of the founders of the ''Kıbrıs Adası Türk Azınlığı Kurumu'' (Association of the Turkish Minority of the Island of Cyprus – known as KATAK). The aim of the party was to promote the social, economic and political well-being of the Turkish Cypriot people. Due to disagreements with some of its members, Küçük parted with KATAK and established the ''Kıbrıs Millî Türk Halk Partisi'' (Cyprus National Turkish People's Party – known as KMTHP). Following a 15-year struggle, Küçük helped for the transfer of the ''Evkaf'' (a Turkish religious fund) from British to Turkish Cypriot control. During the 1959 London and Zurich Conferences for the creation of an independent Republic of Cyprus, Küçük represented the Turkish Cypriot community and was able to secure constitutional safeguards for the people. On December 3, 1959 Küçük was elected vice president of the new republic. Following Greek Cypriot proposals to modify the constitution (see

Cyprus dispute The Cyprus problem, also known as the Cyprus dispute, Cyprus issue, Cyprus question or Cyprus conflict, is an ongoing dispute between Greek Cypriots in the south and Turkish Cypriots in the north. Initially, with the occupation of the island ...

), Küçük continued as the vice president of the Republic of Cyprus until 1973 when he was succeeded by

Rauf Denktaş Rauf Raif Denktaş (27 January 1924 – 13 January 2012) was a Turkish Cypriot politician, barrister and jurist who served as the founding president of Northern Cyprus. He occupied this position as the president of the Turkish Republic of Nor ...

. Despite ill health, Küçük continued to support Turkish Cypriots through his ''Halkın Sesi'' newspaper. Küçük died in a

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

hospital on January 15, 1984, less than a year after the Unilateral declaration of Independence of the

Turkish Republic of 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 island of Cyprus. Reco ...

. He was the uncle of former Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus prime minister,

İrsen Küçük İrsen Küçük (1940 – 10 March 2019) was a Turkish Cypriot politician who was Prime Minister of Northern Cyprus from 2010 to 2013. He was the nephew of the Republic of Cyprus's first vice-president, Fazıl Küçük. Early life and education ...

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Short description Dr Fazıl Küçük's life

Halkın Sesi
Newspaper in Turkish {{DEFAULTSORT:Kucuk, Fazil 1906 births 1984 deaths Cypriot city councillors Cyprus Turkish National Union politicians Leaders of political parties in Cyprus Politicians from Nicosia Turkish Cypriot politicians Vice presidents of Cyprus Istanbul University alumni Turkish Cypriot expatriates in Turkey Turkish Cypriot expatriates in the United Kingdom

Biography

See also

External links