Serdar Denktaş


Serdar Denktaş is son of Rauf Denktaş, the former President of the de facto Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
He was the Minister of Finance of Northern Cyprus from April 2016 to May 2019. His previous portfolios include Labour, Settlement, Foreign Affairs, Economy, Tourism, Sports, Interior, Rural Affairs, Environment, State, Youth, National Education and Culture. He was also an acting Prime Minister from April 23, 2005 to April 26, 2005.
Currently he is the leader of the Democratic Party. He is viewed to be a more pragmatic politician in Cyprus problem than his father.
He was born in Nicosia in 1959. After completing a course in printing at the London College of Printing in the United Kingdom, he entered University College, Cardiff, to study Economics. However, he did not succeed in completing his studies and returned to Cyprus. He served as the General Manager of the Credit Bank of Cyprus.
In the 1990 General Elections he was elected to the TRNC Parliament as a National Unity Party MP for Nicosia, and served as the Minister of the Interior, Rural Affairs and Environment. He resigned from the NUP in 1992 and took part in the formation of the Democratic Party.
In the 1993 General Elections he was re-elected to his seat as a Democratic Party MP. He served in that government as the Minister of Youth and Sports. He became the leader of the Democratic Party in 1996. He served briefly as Minister of State and Deputy Prime Minister until the formation of a new coalition government.
He was re-elected to the TRNC Parliament at the 1998 General Elections. In 1991, he was appointed Minister of Tourism and Environment. At the general elections in 2003, he was re-elected and appointed as the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs until September 2006, when the Democratic Party was dropped as a coalition partner by the Republican Turkish Party.
He was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance on 16 April 2016. His term as Deputy Prime Minister ended 2 February 2018. He resigned as Minister of Finance on 8 May 2019.
He speaks Turkish and English.

Political titles

Serdar Denktaş is known for serving under a vast number of titles throughout his political career. The following table lists his governmental and legislative titles.
TitleStart of termEnd of term
Member of Parliament18 May 19901 October 1993
Member of Parliament25 December 1993present
Minister of Finance16 April 2016present
Acting Prime Minister23 April 200526 April 2005
Deputy Prime Minister16 August 199630 December 1998
Deputy Prime Minister13 January 200425 September 2006
Deputy Prime Minister30 August 201322 May 2015
Deputy Prime Minister16 April 20162 February 2018
Minister of Interior, Rural Affairs and Environment20 June 19908 May 1992
Minister of Sport, Youth and Environment1 January 199418 January 1995
Minister of State16 August 199630 December 1998
Minister of Labour and Settlement11 March 199826 May 1998
Minister of Tourism and Environment8 June 200113 January 2004
Minister of Foreign Affairs13 January 200425 September 2006
Minister of Economy, Tourism, Culture and Sport30 August 201322 May 2015
Minister of National Education3 October 201410 October 2014
Minister of National Education and Culture2 November 20172 February 2018
Leader of Main Opposition30 December 19982000
Leader of Main Opposition16 July 201516 April 2016