Niyazi Kızılyürek (born 19 February 1959) is a

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 ...

political scientist and politician. He is, as of 2016, a professor of political history in the

University of Cyprus The University of Cyprus (Greek language, Greek: Πανεπιστήμιο Κύπρου, Turkish language, Turkish: Kıbrıs Üniversitesi) is a public university, public research institute, research university established in Cyprus in 1989. It ...

, specialising on the political history of Turkey and Cyprus, and the Dean of the School of Humanities there.

Biography

Niyazi Kızılyürek born in Potamia, fled to

Louroujina Louroujina ( []; , previously or ) is a village in Geography of Cyprus, Cyprus, located within the salient (geography), salient that marks the southernmost extent of northern Cyprus. It was one of the largest mixed Cypriot villages before the Tur ...

along with his family due to the intercommunal violence of 1964. After completing high school in

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 ...

, he went to

University of Bremen The University of Bremen () is a public university in Bremen, Germany, with approximately 18,400 students from 117 countries. Its 12 faculties offer more than 100 degree programs. The University of Bremen has been among the top 50 European rese ...

, where he graduated with a BA and MA in Sociology, Politics and Economics in 1983. He completed his

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

at the same university, with a thesis on the

Cyprus problem 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 th ...

. He produced a documentary called ''Our Wall'' with

Panicos Chrysanthou Panicos Chrysanthou (Greek: Πανίκος Χρυσάνθου; born 1951) is a Greek Cypriot filmmaker and documentarian. Biography Panicos Chrysanthou was born in Kythrea in 1951. He graduated from the University of Athens The National and ...

, later winning the Abdi İpekçi Peace Award for the documentary in 1997. In 1995, he entered the University of Cyprus as a lecturer. Upon his entry, he was targeted by fascists, nationalist politicians and media, facing a year-long campaign for his expulsion from the university. He resisted with the support of his co-workers and the university and remained there. He related that over the years, the working environment became much less hostile. In 2013, he was elected Dean of the School of Humanities. In 2014, Kızılyürek became one of the advisers of President

Nicos Anastasiades Nicos Anastasiades ( ; born 27 September 1946) is a Cypriot politician and businessperson, who served as the seventh president of Cyprus from 2013 to 2023. Previously, he was the leader of Democratic Rally between 1997 and 2013 and served as Me ...

on Turkey in the Geostrategic Advisory Council. Kızılyürek has authored around 20 books, including ''

Glafcos Clerides Glafcos Ioannou Clerides (; 24 April 1919 – 15 November 2013) was a Cypriot statesman, who served as President of Cyprus in 1974 and from 1993 to 2003. A barrister and former Royal Air Force pilot, Clerides played an important role in the ...

: The Path of a Country''. He is a columnist in the Turkish Cypriot left-wing newspaper ''

Yeni Düzen ''Yeni Düzen'' or ''Yenidüzen'' is a daily newspaper published in Northern Cyprus. Its current editor in chief is Cenk Mutluyakalı. As of July 2014, it consisted of 24 pages and its daily circulation was 4700. Affiliation and ownership The ne ...

'' and the right-wing

Greek Cypriot Greek Cypriots (, ) are the ethnic Greek population of Cyprus, forming the island's largest ethnolinguistic community. According to the 2023 census, 719,252 respondents recorded their ethnicity as Greek, forming almost 99% of the 737,196 Cypri ...

newspaper ''Simerini''. He has command of five languages: Turkish, Greek, English, German and French.

Politics

Kızılyürek entered politics in 2019, as a candidate for the

2019 European Parliament election The 2019 European Parliament election was held in the European Union (EU) between 23 and 26 May 2019. It was the ninth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979. A total of 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) we ...

with the left-wing

Progressive Party of Working People The Progressive Party of Working People (, , ΑΚΕΛ or AKEL; ) is a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–LeninistHelena Smith, Cyprus gets ready for a communist 'takeover''The Guardian 2008 communist party in Cyprus. AKEL is one of the two major part ...

(AKEL). His candidacy has proved controversial;

Averof Neofytou Averof Neofytou (; born 31 July 1961) is a Cypriot politician, who was the President of the then-ruling Democratic Rally The Democratic Rally (, ΔΗΣΥ, DISY) is a Christian democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Cypru ...

and Eleni Stavrou of the centre-right

Democratic Rally The Democratic Rally (, ΔΗΣΥ, DISY) is a Christian democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Cyprus led by Annita Demetriou. The party was founded on 4 July 1976 by veteran politician Glafcos Clerides. Two leaders of the par ...

claimed that it only serves to reward Turkish intransigence and to normalize the presence of the occupying Turkish Army in Cyprus. He was elected to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

with 25,051 votes, coming second among AKEL's candidates, behind

Giorgos Georgiou Giorgos Georgiou (; 26 May 1947 – 5 June 2023) was a Greek television and radio personality. He started his career as a journalist in 1983 in the sport newspaper "''Φίλαθλος''" (Filathlos, translating "Sports Fan"). In November 199 ...

. His election led to renewed controversy because he said that he will promote the

Turkish language Turkish ( , , also known as 'Turkish of Turkey') is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, a member of Oghuz languages, Oghuz branch with around 90 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and one of two official languag ...

as an official language of the European Parliament (because it is an official language of the Republic of

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

). On the other hand, his supporters have repeatedly praised Kızılyürek's positions about a peaceful reunification of Cyprus and his explicit condemnation of the Turkish invasion and military occupation, as well as the

ethnic cleansing Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, or religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making the society ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal such as deportation or population transfer, it ...

and theft of property committed against Greek Cypriots since 1974.Νιαζί: Έχω την ΤΜΤ να με λένε προδότη – Έχω και τον ΔΗΣΥ να με θέλουν να λογοδοτήσω
''Dialogos.com.cy'', May 6 2019 He ran for reelection in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

but lost due to AKEL's vote share wasn't enough to win the second seat.

References

Books

* ''Glafkos Clerides: The Path of a Country'', Rimal Publications, Nicosia, 2008, 278 p. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kizilyurek, Niyazi 1959 births Living people University of Bremen alumni Cypriot political writers Turkish Cypriot columnists 20th-century Cypriot writers 21st-century Cypriot writers MEPs for Cyprus 2019–2024 Progressive Party of Working People MEPs Academic staff of the University of Cyprus