Niyazi Kızılyürek, born in 1959 in Bodamya, a bi-communal village in Cyprus’s Nicosia district, experienced displacement twice due to ethnic conflicts—first in 1963-64 to Louroujina enclave where he lived with his family and then to Argaki after 1974.

He pursued an interdisciplinary degree in Sociology, Politics, and Economics at Bremen University, where he also completed his Ph.D. thesis on “The Cyprus Problem and International Relations.”

Starting his academic career as a lecturer where he became a full professor at the University of Cyprus in 1995, Kızılyürek specialized in modern Turkish history, Turkish Cypriot community history, the Cyprus conflict, nationalism and ethnic violence. He served as the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities from 2013 to 2016.

Kızılyürek has authored numerous books and scientific studies in various languages and contributed over a thousand columns to Turkish, Greek, Turkish Cypriot, and Greek Cypriot press. Renowned as an authority on the Cyprus Problem, he’s recognized for his work in peace-building efforts within Cyprus.

His documentary “Our Wall,” co-directed with Panicos Hrisantou, earned the Abdi İpekçi Peace and Friendship Award, and he received the Palme Académique award from the French Republic in recognition of his scientific contributions and peace efforts.

In 2019, Niyazi Kızılyürek was the first Turkish Cypriot to be elected to the European Parliament by the votes of both Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities. He is fluent in Turkish, Greek, German, English, and French.