Fazıl Küçük

Fazıl Küçük was a Turkish Cypriot doctor and politician who served as the first Vice President of Cyprus from 1960 to 1963. He was a prominent figure in the Turkish Cypriot community and advocated for the partition of the island, opposing the Greek Cypriot desire for enosis (union with Greece).1

Küçük was elected Vice President alongside Archbishop Makarios III as President in December 1959, following the Zurich and London Agreements that established Cyprus as an independent republic. He held veto power in matters of security, defense, and foreign affairs. However, intercommunal tensions escalated, leading to fighting between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities in 1963, after which Küçük and other Turkish Cypriots withdrew from the government. He continued to be a leader for the Turkish Cypriot community, and later, Rauf Denktash became president of the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus, which was proclaimed in 1975.12