Ilker Kilich

Westminster Debate ‘Elections in Cyprus and the Future of Cyprus Talks’

Ilker Kilich is a Turkish Cypriot born under the British Colonial Rule. Having lived through the 1963/64 troubles, he has dedicated a substantial part of his life to promoting peace and unification of Cyprus as well as promoting socialist values. A graduate from the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, he was one of the leaders of Turkish Cypriot University Students. Following 1971 Military Coup, he left Turkey for Cyprus, where he joined Ahmet Mithat Berberoglu in building the newly born Republican Turkish Party (RTP). Kilich was entrusted with the RTP’s campaign in the 1973 Vice-Presidential elections, during which the RTP Candidate was put in house arrest and forced to step down. Together with Berberoglu and Naci Talat he was arrested and given a suspended prison sentence of 2 years, forcing him to leave Cyprus for London. Together with his friends in the UK he has helped to provide political, financial and moral support to his party in Cyprus. He has chaired various organisations and was the president of the CTP-UK from 1994 to 2012. His numerous articles on the Cyprus Problem has been published in London and in Cyprus. He was the recipient of CEFTUS Lifetime Achievement Award 2015. Kilich is still an activist and political opinion former on Cyprus. He is an RIBA Chartered Architect.