The 1960 Partnership Republic: How Cyprus's Constitutional Order Was Designed and Why It Broke Down

Why It Matters

The 1960 Republic of Cyprus was designed as a partnership state of two co-founding communities, not as a unitary Greek Cypriot state, and its collapse in 1963 is the root of the Cyprus issue that remains unresolved today. Understanding the powers of the Vice President, the separate majorities, the communal ratios and the guarantee system explains why Ankara and the Turkish Cypriot leadership argue that any new settlement must restore political equality in a form that cannot be undone.

This guide sets out the constitutional machinery in plain terms, traces the road from the Enosis/EOKA period to the 1963 crisis, the 1974 intervention and the 1983 proclamation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), and presents the positions of the main actors with attribution.

Background

From Ottoman rule to the Enosis campaign

Cyprus was under Ottoman rule from 1571 and passed to British administration in 1878; the status of the island was settled in British favour by the Treaty of Lausanne (1923) and it became a Crown colony in 1925. From the early twentieth century, Greek Cypriot political leadership, led by the Orthodox Church, pursued Enosis, meaning union with Greece. A church-organised plebiscite in January 1950 recorded an overwhelming Greek Cypriot vote for Enosis; Turkish Cypriots did not take part.

On 1 April 1955 the EOKA organisation under Colonel Georgios Grivas began an armed campaign against British rule with Enosis as its aim. Turkish Cypriot sources record that EOKA also targeted Turkish Cypriots, and that between 1955 and 1958 Turkish Cypriots left around 33 mixed villages. In response the Turkish Cypriot community organised its own resistance structure (TMT, 1958) and promoted taksim, or partition, as the alternative to Enosis. Greek Cypriot accounts stress that EOKA's campaign was directed at colonial rule and that intercommunal violence escalated on both sides after 1957.

The 1959 Zurich and London Agreements

The Greek and Turkish prime ministers, Konstantinos Karamanlis and Adnan Menderes, reached the Zurich agreement on 11 February 1959. The settlement was finalised in London on 19 February 1959 with the United Kingdom and with the community leaders, Archbishop Makarios and Dr Fazıl Küçük. Both sides gave up their maximum goals: Greek Cypriots renounced Enosis and Turkish Cypriots renounced partition. The result was an independent state whose constitution embedded political equality of the two communities and whose territorial integrity and constitutional order were placed under international guarantee.

Makarios was elected President in December 1959 and Küçük Vice President; the Republic of Cyprus came into being on 16 August 1960.

The constitutional design

The 1960 Constitution was an unusually detailed power-sharing document. It recognised two communities, Greek and Turkish, with the smaller Armenian, Maronite and Latin groups opting to join one of them for constitutional purposes (most chose the Greek community). At the 1960 census Turkish Cypriots were roughly 18 percent of the population.

Element	1960 constitutional provision
Head of state	A Greek Cypriot President elected by the Greek Cypriot community and a Turkish Cypriot Vice President elected by the Turkish Cypriot community, each for five years
Executive powers of the Vice President	Final veto over laws and decisions on foreign affairs, defence and security; power to return other laws to the legislature for reconsideration
Council of Ministers	Ten ministers: seven Greek Cypriot (appointed by the President) and three Turkish Cypriot (appointed by the Vice President); one of the Foreign, Defence or Finance portfolios had to go to a Turkish Cypriot
House of Representatives	50 seats: 35 Greek Cypriot and 15 Turkish Cypriot, elected on separate communal rolls
Separate majorities	Tax and customs laws and changes to the electoral law needed separate simple majorities of both communal groups of deputies; most constitutional amendments needed two-thirds of each group; 'Basic Articles' could not be amended
Communal chambers	A Greek Communal Chamber and a Turkish Communal Chamber with authority over religion, education, culture, personal status and communal taxation
Civil service	70 percent Greek Cypriot, 30 percent Turkish Cypriot
Army	2,000 men, 60 percent Greek Cypriot, 40 percent Turkish Cypriot
Police and gendarmerie	2,000 men, 70 percent Greek Cypriot, 30 percent Turkish Cypriot
Courts	Supreme Constitutional Court and High Court of Justice, each led by a neutral president who was not a Cypriot, Greek, Turkish or British national
Local government	Separate municipalities for Greek and Turkish Cypriots in the five largest towns, with the arrangement open to review

The ratios in the legislature, civil service and security forces were deliberately more generous to Turkish Cypriots than their population share. Supporters of the design saw this as the price of a minority's consent to independence; critics, mainly on the Greek Cypriot side, saw it as granting a minority of about 18 percent powers of obstruction.

For a detailed look at the key safeguard, see What Was the Turkish Cypriot Vice President's Veto, and Why Did the 13 Amendments Target It?. A direct rebuttal of a common misconception is in Fact Check: Was the 1960 Republic of Cyprus Meant to Be a Greek Cypriot State?.

The treaty framework

The constitution sat inside a treaty system:

• Treaty of Establishment: the United Kingdom retained the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia.
• Treaty of Guarantee: Article I obliged Cyprus to maintain its independence, territorial integrity, security and constitution, and prohibited any activity promoting union with another state or partition. Article II made Türkiye, Greece and the United Kingdom guarantors of that state of affairs. Article IV provides that the guarantors consult in case of a breach and that, if common or concerted action proves impossible, each reserves the right to take action 'with the sole aim of re-establishing the state of affairs established by the present Treaty'.
• Treaty of Alliance: stationed Greek (950) and Turkish (650) national contingents on the island.

For more on the guarantee system, see the sister analyses Doctrine Review: Cyprus and the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee: What It Says and Why It Matters and Regional Order: Cyprus and the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee: From Partnership Republic to the Two-State Solution.

1960 to 1963: deadlock

The new state faced disputes almost at once. The main flashpoints were the integration of the army (Greek Cypriots favoured mixed units; Turkish Cypriots insisted on separation as the constitution's ratios were applied), the implementation of the 30 percent civil service ratio, the creation of separate municipalities, and the tax legislation: the income tax law lapsed at the end of 1962 after the Turkish Cypriot deputies withheld their separate majority. Greek Cypriot leaders argued that the constitution was unworkable; Turkish Cypriot leaders argued that Greek Cypriot officials were not implementing it in good faith.

30 November 1963 and the December violence

On 30 November 1963 President Makarios sent the Vice President 13 proposals for constitutional amendment. They would, among other things, remove the Vice President's veto, abolish the separate majorities, unify the municipalities, reduce the community ratios in the civil service and security forces to population proportions, and change the arrangements for the judiciary. The Turkish side, with Ankara's support, rejected the package on 16 December 1963 as the dismantling of the partnership. Greek Cypriot officials presented the proposals as a good-faith attempt to resolve the deadlocks.

On 21 December 1963, an incident in Nicosia sparked widespread fighting, widely known in Turkish sources as 'Bloody Christmas' (Kanlı Noel). Turkish Cypriot and Turkish official sources state that about 30,000 Turkish Cypriots were displaced from some 103 villages and that Turkish Cypriots were forced out of government posts. Greek Cypriot sources generally say the Turkish Cypriot leadership withdrew from state organs under the direction of its own leadership and that Greek Cypriot forces acted against Turkish Cypriot militants.

The Akritas Plan

The so-called Akritas Plan was published by the Greek Cypriot newspaper Patris in April 1966. Turkish Cypriot and Turkish sources cite it as evidence that the amendments of 1963 and the subsequent violence followed a pre-planned strategy to nullify the Zurich-London settlement and subdue Turkish Cypriots by force before foreign intervention was possible. Greek Cypriot commentators have disputed how far the document represented official policy, and some historians question its authorship and role. Its existence and text are not themselves in dispute.

The sister article The Global Anatomy: Bloody Christmas 1963 and the Akritas Plan: How the Cyprus Partnership Republic Collapsed covers this period in more detail.

The Green Line and Resolution 186

On 30 December 1963 the British commander in Cyprus, Major-General Peter Young, drew a ceasefire line across Nicosia on a map in green pencil: the Green Line. Turkish Cypriots retreated into enclaves. On 4 March 1964 UN Security Council Resolution 186 recommended the creation of a UN peacekeeping force (UNFICYP) and called on the 'Government of Cyprus' to maintain law and order. In the same year Greek Cypriot courts adopted the 'doctrine of necessity' to validate the continued functioning of the state without Turkish Cypriot participation. Ankara and Turkish Cypriots argue that the resolution's language gave the Greek Cypriot administration the status of the sole government of a state it had altered by force.

1974: coup and intervention

On 15 July 1974 the Greek military junta, working through the Greek-officered National Guard, overthrew President Makarios and installed Nicos Sampson, a former EOKA fighter, as president. After unsuccessful consultation with the United Kingdom, Türkiye intervened on 20 July 1974, citing Article IV of the Treaty of Guarantee. The UN Security Council in Resolution 353 called for a ceasefire and the withdrawal of foreign military personnel. After the junta collapsed in Athens, a second phase of operations occurred in mid-August 1974 and the island was divided along a line that placed around 36 to 37 percent of its territory under Turkish Cypriot administration. Large-scale population movements followed: Greek Cypriots moved south and Turkish Cypriots moved north.

1983: the TRNC and later negotiations

The Turkish Federated State of Cyprus was declared in 1975. The 1977 and 1979 high-level agreements between the two community leaders envisaged a bi-communal, bi-zonal federation. On 15 November 1983 Rauf Denktaş proclaimed the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). The UN Security Council in Resolution 541 (18 November 1983) called the declaration legally invalid and urged its withdrawal; only Türkiye recognises the TRNC.

Subsequent attempts included the Annan Plan, put to simultaneous referendums on 24 April 2004: 64.91 percent of Turkish Cypriots voted yes and 75.83 percent of Greek Cypriots voted no. The Republic of Cyprus, represented by the Greek Cypriot administration, joined the European Union on 1 May 2004. See The 2004 Annan Plan Referendum: 64.91% Said Yes, 75.83% Said No, and Cyprus Joined the EU Anyway. Further efforts included the Crans-Montana Conference in July 2017, the informal 5+UN meeting in Geneva in April 2021, and a UN-hosted meeting in New York on 15 October 2024.

Key Players & Positions

Greek Cypriot administration (Republic of Cyprus). According to the Republic's official statements, the Republic of Cyprus is the single internationally recognised state, a member of the UN and EU since 2004, and the 1960 order was not a partnership of two states but a state with two communities. It argues that the Treaty of Guarantee did not authorise military force, that the 1974 operation was an invasion and that the continued presence of Turkish troops is an occupation. It supports a settlement as a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation with political equality, as set out in UN Security Council resolutions.

Greece. Athens supports the UN-led federal framework and considers the Treaty of Guarantee and Alliance system outdated; it has called for the end of the guarantor system and the withdrawal of Turkish troops.

United Kingdom. As a guarantor and holder of the Sovereign Base Areas, London says it supports a UN-led settlement based on the agreed parameters and it did not exercise its Article IV right in 1974.

United Nations. UN Security Council Resolution 1251 (1999) describes a settlement based on a single sovereignty, single international personality and single citizenship with political equality, in a bi-communal, bi-zonal federation. Resolutions 353 and 541 are the key documents on 1974 and 1983.

European Union. The EU treats the whole island as EU territory, with the acquis suspended in the areas where the Republic of Cyprus does not exercise effective control, and supports the UN framework.

Turkish Cypriot leadership. Turkish Cypriot officials who favoured the two-state approach argue that the partnership was destroyed in 1963, that Turkish Cypriots hold inherent sovereign rights and that the TRNC is the expression of their right to self-determination. Positions within Turkish Cypriot politics have varied over time, so readers should check current statements by the Turkish Cypriot leader and the UN.

🇹🇷 Official Policy · Primary Sources

Türkiye's Position

• The 1960 Republic was a partnership of two founding peoples. According to the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on the Cyprus Question, the Zurich-London Agreements created a state based on the political equality and co-founder status of Turkish and Greek Cypriots. The legal basis is the 1960 Constitution's Basic Articles and the Treaty of Guarantee. See also the fact check on whether the Republic was a Greek Cypriot state.
• The partnership was destroyed in 1963 by the Greek Cypriot side. Ankara argues that the 30 November 1963 proposals aimed to remove the Vice President's veto and reduce Turkish Cypriots to a minority, that the events beginning on 21 December 1963 expelled Turkish Cypriots from state organs and that the Akritas Plan documents the intention. According to the MFA, the Greek Cypriot administration therefore has no right to represent Turkish Cypriots or the whole island, and Ankara considers that UN Security Council Resolution 186 institutionalised the status asymmetry.
• The 1974 intervention was lawful under Article IV of the Treaty of Guarantee. Türkiye's position, as stated by the MFA and the Presidency, is that after the 15 July 1974 coup aimed at Enosis, consultation with the United Kingdom failed, and Türkiye acted as a guarantor with the aim of restoring the constitutional order and protecting Turkish Cypriots. Ankara contends that the operation prevented annexation by Greece. Greek Cypriot and many Western lawyers dispute this reading, and Ankara in turn points to Article I's prohibition of union and partition as the treaty's core.
• The TRNC is an expression of self-determination. Ankara states that the proclamation of 15 November 1983 by President Rauf Denktaş reflected the Turkish Cypriots' will and equal status; Türkiye recognises the TRNC and does not accept UN Security Council Resolution 541's characterisation.
• The federal model is exhausted and the way forward is sovereign equality. The Presidency and MFA point to the failure of the 1977 and 1979 frameworks, the 2004 referendums (64.91 percent Turkish Cypriot yes against 75.83 percent Greek Cypriot no, followed by EU accession), Crans-Montana (2017), Geneva (April 2021) and New York (15 October 2024). Ankara maintains that a lasting settlement must begin with recognition of the Turkish Cypriot people's sovereign equality and equal international status, with two sovereign states cooperating on the island, and with the guarantee system preserved.

For related legal themes see Treaties That Define Türkiye: Lausanne, Kars and Montreux as the Legal Foundations of the Republic's Order and, on the Turkish view of 1974, Borders & Blocs: Fact Check: Was Türkiye's 1974 Intervention in Cyprus Simply an 'Illegal Invasion'? What Article IV of the Treaty of Guarantee Says.

Source Comparison

The same events are described very differently depending on the source. The table sets out the main framings; readers should consult the primary documents (the 1960 Constitution, the three treaties and UN resolutions) directly.

Issue	Greek Cypriot and many Western sources	Turkish and Turkish Cypriot primary sources
Nature of the 1960 state	A unitary state with two communities and heavy minority safeguards	A bi-communal partnership of two co-founding peoples
The Vice President's veto	An obstacle to the functioning of the state	A core guarantee against majority rule
30 November 1963 proposals	An attempt to make the state workable	An attempt to dismantle the partnership
December 1963	Intercommunal violence, with Turkish Cypriots withdrawing from government	An attack on Turkish Cypriots and their expulsion from state organs
Akritas Plan	Of disputed authorship and status	Evidence of a prepared strategy
UNSC Resolution 186	Recognised the legitimate government	Entrenched status asymmetry
1974	Invasion and occupation contrary to the UN Charter	Treaty-based intervention under Article IV after a coup
1983	An illegal secession, void under UNSC Resolution 541	An exercise of self-determination by Turkish Cypriots
Way forward	Federation under UN parameters	Sovereign equality and two states

Several additional points matter for balanced reading. UN Security Council resolutions 353 and 541 are official UN positions and are cited by the Greek Cypriot side. The European Court of Human Rights has found Türkiye responsible for violations in northern Cyprus (for example in Loizidou v. Turkey), a conclusion Ankara disputes. At the same time Ankara, the Turkish Cypriot leadership and many analysts cite UN records from the 1960s that describe the Turkish Cypriot community's exclusion from government. Sister publications that discuss the Turkish reading include Regional Balance: The Cyprus Issue: 1960 Treaties, 1974 and the Case for a Sovereign Equal Two-State Solution.

Key Terms & Related Guides

• Enosis: the Greek Cypriot nationalist aim of union with Greece, banned by Article I of the Treaty of Guarantee.
• Taksim: the Turkish Cypriot aim of partition, also renounced in 1959.
• Basic Articles: the unamendable core of the 1960 Constitution.
• Separate majority: a vote in which the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot deputies each had to approve a measure by a simple (or two-thirds) majority.
• Communal Chambers: bodies responsible for religion, education, culture and personal status for each community.
• Guarantor powers: Türkiye, Greece and the United Kingdom under the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee.
• Green Line: the 1963 ceasefire line in Nicosia, later the buffer zone running across the island.
• TRNC: the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, proclaimed on 15 November 1983 and recognised only by Türkiye.

Related guides on Politepolity:

• What Was the Turkish Cypriot Vice President's Veto, and Why Did the 13 Amendments Target It?
• The 2004 Annan Plan Referendum: 64.91% Said Yes, 75.83% Said No, and Cyprus Joined the EU Anyway
• Who Governs the Sea? Marine Spatial Planning and Türkiye's 12 June 2025 IOC-UNESCO Registration, on the maritime side of the Turkish Cypriot rights question
• Editorial Principles: Primary Sources, Fair Representation and the Türkiye's Position Rule and the Politepolity FAQ: Sources, Methodology and Perspective
• Politepolity: Statecraft, Treaties and Law from Türkiye's Perspective and About Politepolity: Mission, Transparency and Editorial Team

Another reading of the issue is in The Political Anatomy: The Cyprus Issue Explained: 1960 Treaties, Guarantor Rights and the Sovereign Equal Two-State Approach.

Perspective note: Politepolity presents global and regional affairs with a dedicated perspective from Türkiye. Sections marked 'Türkiye's Position' reflect official Turkish policy and legal doctrines as stated by Turkish primary sources. This article was prepared by the Politepolity Editorial Team.