KYPRIANOU, SPYROS independence but unable to grasp the reins of power and rule effectively. Further Reading Gaunson, A. B. The Anglo-French Clash in Lebanon and Syria, 1940–45. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1987. Heydemann, Steven. Authoritarianism in Syria: Institutions and Social Conflict, 1946–1970. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1999. Moubayed, Sami M. Damascus between Democracy and Dictatorship. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 2000. Sadowski, Yahya M. “Political Power and Economic Organization in Syria: The Course of State Intervention, 1946–1958.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., University of California–Los Angeles, 1984. Said, Jamal A. “The Emergence of Syria and Lebanon, 1920–1946.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss., Johns Hopkins University, 1964. Talhami, Ghada H. Syria and the Palestinians: The Clash of Nationalisms. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2001.
Kyprianou, Spyros (1932–2002) president of Cyprus Spyros Kyprianou was born in Limassol, Cyprus, on October 28, 1932, the son of a successful businessman. As part of the island’s elite, he was sent to study in England and graduated from the City of London College in 1951. Three years later, he was called before the bar and remained in England as a Cypriot spokesman. Cyprus had been an English colonial possession since 1878, and the Greek majority sought independence, to be followed by an immediate enosis (union) with mainland Greece. Such a move met strong opposition from the English, who maintained naval bases on the island, as well as the small but vocal Turkish minority, who feared a loss of civil rights. Kyprianou nonetheless presented his case in diplomatic circles as a personal representative of Archbishop MAKARIOS III. He also functioned as president of the National Union of Cypriot Students in England. Events quickened in 1955 when Greek guerrillas began a campaign of violence against the Turks, which prompted the deployment of British troops on Cyprus. Kyprianou was then deported from England
253
and resettled in the United States to plead his case for reunification before the United Nations. However, by 1957 he returned to London to take part in independence talks for Cyprus. A treaty was signed in 1959 giving the island its sovereignty, but only with extensive protection for Turks: they were allotted 30 percent of seats in the House of Representatives, the office of vice president was reserved for a Turk, and they could veto any legislation deemed threatening to their interests. It was a far from perfect solution for traditional ethnic enmities. Back home Kyprianou helped found the National Democratic Front for Reconstruction, through which Makarios was elected president in August 1960. Kyprianou was then appointed minister of justice and finally foreign minister, an office he held for the next 12 years. In this capacity he conducted the island’s affairs as a nonaligned nation and cultivated close ties with other emerging countries. He also secured membership in the new European Common Market, and in 1967 functioned as president of the Committee of Foreign Ministers of the Council of Europe. Unfortunately, fighting between Greeks and Turks erupted again in 1963, for which United Nations peacekeeping forces were deployed. Tensions further escalated in 1967 when both Greece and Turkey prepared to go to war to protect their respective communities. At this juncture both Makarios and Kyprianou began counseling caution and moderation in their dealing with the Turks, a stance resented by the military dictatorship running Greece. In 1972 they applied sufficient pressure to have Kyprianou removed as foreign minister, and he practiced law for four years. In July 1974 the junta also deposed Makarios by a coup, at which point the Turks invaded and seized the northern third of the island. War between the two nations seemed imminent, and Greek and Turkish Cypriots now conducted their affairs at gunpoint. Kyprianou was active at the United Nations for several years and pressed for the removal of Turkish troops from Cyprus. He also founded the new Democratic Front, and in September 1976 was appointed president of the House of Representatives. After Makarios died in exile the following year, Kyprianou was elected president of the island’s Greek half. He continually sought peaceful resolution and the island’s reunification, eventually settling upon a federal scheme with two distinct governments under one administration, but the Turks were