Özdil Nami (born 23 May 1967) is a British-born

Turkish Cypriot Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( or ; ) are so called ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Turkish Cypriots are mainly Sunni Muslims. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,000 Turkish settlers were given land onc ...

politician. He has served as the

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, island of Cyprus. It is List of states with limited recognition, recognis ...

and the Turkish Cypriot Special Representative in the negotiations to solve the

Cyprus dispute The Cyprus problem, also known as the Cyprus conflict, Cyprus issue, Cyprus dispute, or Cyprus question, is an ongoing dispute between the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot community in the north of the island of Cyprus, where troops of t ...

. He currently serves as the Minister of Economy and Energy of Northern Cyprus. Nami was born in London on 23 May 1967. He studied business in the

Boğaziçi University Boğaziçi University (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Boğaziçi Üniversitesi''), also known as Bosphorus University, is a Public university, public research university in Istanbul, Turkey, historically tied to a former American educational insti ...

Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, graduating in 1988, and went on to complete a master's degree in finance in the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

in 1991. After his return to Cyprus, he started to work in the company of his family, Erdil & Sons Ltd as a director. Between 1993 and 1997, he delivered business lectures in the

Eastern Mediterranean University The Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU; ) is a public university in Northern Cyprus, was established in 1979, led by Onay Fadıl Demirciler, who was then the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education. Initially founded as a technology-focus ...

Near East University Near East University (NEU; , commonly referred to as YDÜ) is a private university located in Northern Cyprus. It was founded in North Nicosia in 1988, by Suat Günsel, a Turkish Cypriot who is the 100% owner of NEU. The chairman of the board o ...

and the

European University of Lefke European University of Lefke (EUL) is an institution of higher learning located in the Northern Cyprus ('' de facto'' state ) Nicosia District town of Lefka, overlooking Morphou Bay. Founded in 1989 by Cyprus Science Foundation, the universit ...

. He was appointed in 1997 as an adviser to the President

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 Nort ...

on political analysis and took part in the negotiations to solve the Cyprus dispute until 2000. He then served as a Councillor at the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce in 2000 and 2001 and as the Chairperson of Cyprus Turkish Businessmen Association between 2001 and 2003. In the 2003 parliamentary election, he was elected as a member of the

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

for the

Republican Turkish Party The Republican Turkish Party (, CTP; ) is a social-democratic political party in Northern Cyprus. The party was founded in 1970 by Ahmet Mithat Berberoğlu, a lawyer, in opposition to the leadership of Fazıl Küçük and Rauf Denktaş. On 30 ...

(CTP), representing the

Lefkoşa District Lefkoşa District () is a district of Northern Cyprus. It is divided into two sub-districts: Lefkoşa Sub-district and Değirmenlik Sub-district.Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Assembly is made up of ...

and in February 2005. He was re-elected to the same position in the parliament in

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

and appointed to the position of the Turkish Cypriot Special Representative for the negotiations under 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 (, CTP), from 1996 to 2005 and 2015 to ...

, serving in that position until Talat's replacement by Derviş Eroğlu in 2010. He was re-elected as a CTP MP for the Lefkoşa District in the

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

and 2013 parliamentary elections. On 1 September 2013, he was appointed as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Northern Cyprus in the Yorgancıoğlu cabinet. On 11 May 2015, he resigned from his position as a minister after being appointed by the newly elected President

Mustafa Akıncı Mustafa Akıncı (; born 28 December 1947) is a Turkish Cypriots, Turkish Cypriot politician who was the president of Northern Cyprus from April 2015 until October 2020. An architect by profession, Akıncı in 1976 became the first elected mayor ...

as his Special Representative in the negotiations; Nami had already taken over this position on 4 May. On 2 February 2018, he assumed the role of the Minister of Economy and Energy in the Erhürman cabinet.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nami, Ozdil Republican Turkish Party politicians 1967 births Living people British people of Turkish Cypriot descent Ministers of foreign affairs of Northern Cyprus Members of the Assembly of the Republic (Northern Cyprus) Government ministers of Northern Cyprus Boğaziçi University alumni Türk Maarif Koleji alumni Academic staff of Near East University Academic staff of Eastern Mediterranean University Turkish Cypriot expatriates in Turkey Turkish Cypriot expatriates in the United States University of California, Berkeley alumni