The Communal Chambers were two parallel legislative bodies in

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

; one for the

Greek Cypriot Greek Cypriots (, ) are the ethnic Greek population of Cyprus, forming the island's largest ethnolinguistic community. According to the 2023 census, 719,252 respondents recorded their ethnicity as Greek, forming almost 99% of the 737,196 Cypri ...

community and one for the

Turkish Cypriot Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( or ; ) are so called ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Turkish Cypriots are mainly Sunni Muslims. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,000 Turkish settlers were given land onc ...

community. The Greek Chamber was abolished in 1965.

History

The Chambers were established under the 1960 constitution,Historical Review
Parliament of Cyprus with the first elections held on 7 August 1960. The Patriotic Front won a large majority in the Greek chamber and the Cyprus Turkish National Union won all the seats in the Turkish chamber.Yitzhak Oron ''Middle East Record Volume 1, 1960'' The Moshe Dayan Centre, p225 Following the withdrawal of the Turkish community from national politics in December 1963, in March 1965 the remaining Greek members of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

passed a law abolishing the Greek Communal Chamber and transferring its responsibilities to the House of Representatives. A new

Ministry of Education and Culture A ministry of education and culture is a cabinet position in the governments of several nations. In some nations the ministry of education and the ministry of culture are separate departments; in others, the ministry of education and culture al ...

was established to take responsibility for educational and cultural issues. In 1967 members of the Turkish chamber joined with the 15 Turkish former members of the House of Representatives to establish a new Turkish Cypriot Legislative Assembly. The chamber was never officially dissolved, although its powers have not been exercised in the Republic of Cyprus since the 1974 division of the island.

Powers

Article 87 of the constitution outlined the responsibilities of the chambers:Constitution of Cyprus
President of Cyprus

References

{{reflist Historical legislatures Politics of Cyprus 1960 establishments in Cyprus 1965 disestablishments in Cyprus