Mustafa Çağatay

Mustafa Çağatay was a Turkish Cypriot politician who served as the Prime Minister of the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus (TFSC) and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. He held this office from 1978 to 1983. He was born in Limassol April 20, 1937 and died on April 3, 1989 in a traffic accident in Kyrenia.[2][3]

Mustafa Çağatay
Prime Minister of Northern Cyprus
In office
12 December 1978 – 13 December 1983
PresidentRauf Denktaş
Preceded byOsman Örek
Succeeded byNejat Konuk
Leader of the National Unity Party
In office
7 January 1979 – 30 November 1983
Preceded byOsman Örek
Succeeded byDerviş Eroğlu
Minister of Finance
In office
18 December 1976 – 8 July 1977
Prime MinisterNejat Konuk
Preceded byMehmet Altinay
Succeeded byTansel Fikri
Minister of Labour and Social Security
In office
8 July 1977 – 21 April 1978
Prime MinisterNejat Konuk
Minister of Labour, Social Works and Health
In office
21 April 1978 – 27 June 1978
Prime MinisterOsman Örek
Member of the Assembly of Republic
In office
20 June 1976 – 23 June 1985
ConstituencyGirne (1976, 1981)
Personal details
Born20 April 1937
Limassol, British Cyprus
Died3 April 1989(1989-04-03) (aged 51)
Kyrenia, Northern Cyprus
Political partyNational Unity Party
Spouse(s)Tuncay Çağatay[1]

Early life and early political career

Çağatay was born in 1937 in the town of Limassol. He completed middle school in Limassol and graduated from the Nicosia Boys' High School. Having worked as a civil servant in the Limassol District Court for three years, he then went to London to train as a lawyer and returned in 1963, having completed his training. He started working as a lawyer and joined the Turkish Resistance Organisation, serving as a legal adviser in the Limassol District headquarters. He then served as a military commander during the intercommunal fighting of 1964, he is noted to have led a significant resistance on 13 February 1964.[4]

He was elected to the Turkish Cypriot Communal Assembly on 5 July 1970, representing Limassol. Following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974 and the Greek Cypriot capture of the Turkish Cypriot enclave of Limassol, Çağatay was arrested as a prisoner of war. He was later released, displaced to Northern Cyprus and represented Turkish Cypriots in talks with Greek Cypriots as a representative of the Turkish Cypriots of Limassol.[4]

Member of Parliament and Prime Minister

He was elected as a member of the parliament representing the Girne District for the National Unity Party (UBP) in the parliamentary election of 1976. He then served as the Vice President of the UBP group in the parliament.[4] In the First Konuk cabinet, he was appointed as the Minister of Finance on 18 December 1976[5][6] and the Minister of Labour and Social Security in a cabinet reshuffle on 8 July 1977.[7] He served in this position until the end of the cabinet on 21 April 1978. He then became the Minister of Labour, Social Works and Health in the Örek cabinet, which took office on 21 April 1978.[4] However, on 27 June 1978, he resigned from this post.[8]

His term as Prime Minister saw the consolidation of the state in Northern Cyprus.[9] According to political scientist and columnist Hasan Hastürer, President Rauf Denktaş heavily interfered with the government during his term as Prime Minister and a system of exploitation of Greek Cypriot properties and corruption was in place. However, according to Hastürer, Çağatay never actually exploited any Greek Cypriot property, never allowed any relatives any privileges and was known as a man of integrity.[10][2] According to the then-politician Ali Atun, Çağatay was eliminated from his position by Denktaş for unknown reasons;[11] Mehmet Hasgüler, a professor of political science, has written that it is rumoured that when Çağatay visited Turkey as the founding Prime Minister of Northern Cyprus, he would only be met by a governor, upon which he refused to go out of the plane, and said that Çağatay's immediate "removal" from Prime Ministry and the end of his political career suggest that this may be partly true.[12]

References
  1. Tolgay, Ahmet (4 January 2015). "Eşi Tuncay Hanım'la Mustafa Çağatay'ı konuşmak…". Kıbrıs. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  2. Hastürer, Hasan. "Mustafa Çağatay'ı nasıl bilirdiniz?". Kıbrıs. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  3. "Ceremony held for late PM Çağatay". BRT. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  4. Emircan, Mehmet Salih (2007). Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti'nde Tören, Bayram ve Anma Günleri. Nicosia: Association of Ex-TMT Servicemen. pp. 36–7.
  5. "1977 – Nejat Konuk Hukumeti". National Unity Party. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  6. "KKTC Maliye Bakanlığı -Görev Alan Bakanlar-". www.maliye.gov.ct.tr.
  7. Cemal, Akay (8 July 1977). "Kıbrıs Türk Federe Devleti'nin Yeni Kabinesi Açıklandı". Milliyet. p. 2.
  8. Cemal, Akay (28 June 1978). "KTFD Çalışma Bakanı İstifa Etti". Milliyet. p. 9.
  9. "Bürokrasi - Hantal Devlet ve Özerkleştirme olayı". Kıbrıs Postası. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  10. "Tuncay Çağatay'ın yerinde uyarısı..." Kıbrıs. 31 December 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  11. "Dr. Ali Atun, tarihi bir olayı dile getirdi". Haber Kıbrıs. 2 January 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  12. Hasgüler, Mehmet (21 February 2016). ""Kurucu KKTC Başbakanı" Mustafa Çağatay: "Protokol Krizi" Rivayet Mi?". Kıbrıs. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
Political offices
Preceded by
Osman Örek		 Prime minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
1978–1983		 Succeeded by
Nejat Konuk
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