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 who served as the Minister of Public Works and Transport between 2009 and 2010 and between 2014 and 2015.
He graduated from the
University of Wisconsin
A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...
in 1986, studying economics and political science. He then worked in commerce, taking part in the Assembly of the
Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce
Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce ( Turkish: ''Kıbrıs Türk Ticaret Odası'') is a chamber of commerce and was founded in Nicosia in 1958 and represents businesses in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
Northern Cyprus, officially ...
for three terms and the Board of Directors of the Association of Young Businesspeople for two terms. He worked in the Board of Directors of the credit company owned by the
Evkaf Administration
A (; , plural ), also called a (, plural or ), or ''mortmain'' property, is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charita ...
in 1996 and also administered a
handball
Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...
club.
He got involved in the youth branch of the
National Unity Party The National Unity Party, National United Party, Party of National Unity or National Unity Front may refer to:
* National United Party of Afghanistan (founded 2003)
* National Unity Party (Albania)
* National United Party (Armenia), defunct
* Natio ...
(UBP) and became the head of the youth branch of
LefkoÅŸa District
LefkoÅŸa District () is a district of Northern Cyprus. It is divided into two sub-districts: LefkoÅŸa Sub-district and DeÄŸirmenlik Sub-district.1998 election, he was elected to the Assembly of the Republic as a member of the UBP representing the LefkoÅŸa District. In February 2009, he became the head of the LefkoÅŸa District organization of the UBP, a post he would occupy until May 2009. He was re-elected in
2003
2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater.
In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War.
Demographic ...
,
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
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 ...
. In 2009, he received 24,776 votes, coming fifth in the UBP in an election where the party won eight MP seats from LefkoÅŸa. On 4 May 2009, he became the Minister of Public Works and Transport in the
eighth EroÄŸlu cabinet
Eighth is ordinal form of the number eight.
Eighth may refer to:
* One eighth, , a fraction, one of eight equal parts of a whole
* Eighth note (quaver), a musical note played for half the value of a quarter note (crotchet)
* Octave, an interval b ...
and held his ministerial position until May 2010. During his tenure, the
Cyprus Turkish Airlines
Cyprus Turkish Airlines Limited () was a Turkish Cypriot airline that served as the flag carrier for Northern Cyprus. Until its collapse in June 2010, Cyprus Turkish Airlines was the primary airline flying passengers to Northern Cyprus.
KTHY o ...
faced a growing economic crisis, but Taçoy said that he lacked the complete power to fix the problem. He was a candidate for UBP leadership in the extraordinary congress on 5 December 2010, but lost to
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 educatio ...
, garnering 212 out of 1414 votes and coming third after Küçük and
Ahmet KaÅŸif
Ahmet KaÅŸif (born 1950) is a Turkish Cypriot politician. He is a member of the Assembly of the Republic (Northern Cyprus), Assembly of the Republic from GazimaÄŸusa District, GazimaÄŸusa, and he is a member of the National Unity Party (Northern ...
. On 27 May 2013, he resigned from the UBP. He joined the Democratic Party on 30 May 2013 and entered the 2013 parliamentary election as a member of the DP. He was re-elected to represent the LefkoÅŸa District with 11,225 votes. On 14 February 2014, he was elected to the position of Secretary General in the party unopposed. In October 2014, he became the Minister of Public Works and Transport in the
Yorgancıoğlu cabinet
Yorgancıoğlu cabinet was the government of Northern Cyprus between 2 September 2013 and 16 July 2015. It was formed after the Northern Cyprus parliamentary election, 2013, 2013 parliamentary election, with the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) as th ...
, a position he occupied until July 2015. During his tenure, he controversially declared that ports would be privatised, with
Port of Famagusta
The Port of Famagusta is a seaport in Famagusta, Cyprus. There is a free zone ("Famagusta Free Zone") in the port.
The port is under the '' de facto'' control of Northern Cyprus. The ports of Northern Cyprus are not registered to the Internationa ...
being prioritised. On 18 March 2016, he resigned from DP and as of July 2016, he continued his tenure as MP as an independent supporting the UBP-DP coalition
Özgürgün cabinet Özgürgün cabinet was the government of Northern Cyprus between 16 April 2016 and 2 February 2018. It replaced the Kalyoncu cabinet and consisted of 10 ministers formed by a coalition of the National Unity Party (Northern Cyprus), National Unity P ...
.
Taçoy was one of the chief supporters of the then UBP leader
DerviÅŸ EroÄŸlu
DerviÅŸ EroÄŸlu (born 7 March 1938) is a Turkish Cypriot politician, who served as the president of Northern Cyprus from 2010Annan Plan
The Annan Plan (), also known as the Cyprus reunification plan, was a United Nations proposal to resolve the Cyprus dispute. The different parts of the proposal were based on the argumentation put forward by each party (Turkish Cypriots and Gree ...
for Cyprus. Taçoy believes Turkish Cypriot society to be in moral corruption and believes that religion should play a more prominent role in public life, for which Turkey should take a proactive stance. He has stated that he wants a "society that prays and fasts". He advocates that Northern Cyprus should have no friction with "motherland Turkey", has praised the
Justice and Development Party Justice and Development Party may refer to several political parties, the best-known ones being:
* Justice and Development Party (Morocco)
* Justice and Development Party (Turkey)
Justice and Development Party may also refer to:
* Justice and Dev ...
of Turkey and stated that Northern Cyprus should move to an executive presidency.