Ersin Tatar


Ersin Tatar is a Turkish Cypriot politician currently serving as the Prime Minister of Northern Cyprus. He took up the position following the collapse of the coalition government of Tufan Erhürman in May 2019. He is also the leader of the National Unity Party and served as Leader of the Opposition.

Early life

Ersin Tatar was born in 1960 in Nicosia. He completed his high school education in England, and attended Cambridge University where he graduated in 1982.

Career

From 1982 until 1986 Tatar worked as an accountant at PriceWaterhouse in England. Between 1986 and 1991 he worked at PollyPeck company. In 1991 he moved to Ankara where he worked at FMC Nurol Defense Industry Co. until 1992. From 1992 until 2001 he served as the Finance Director of ShowTV. He was also an active member in the Cypriot Diaspora community in Turkey, serving as chair of the Istanbul Turkish Cypriot Cultural Association between 1997 and 2001.

Politics

Tatar entered politics in 2003, joining the UBP. He was first elected to parliament in 2009, and served as Finance Minister under Derviş Eroğlu until his party’s defeat in 2013. In 2015, he ran for the UBP leadership and lost. In 2018, he ran again and won.
Tatar voiced support for the 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria and said that Cypriot Turks are always on Turkey's side.
Tatar also supports two-state solution.