Oz Karahan

Oz Karahan is a Cypriot political activist,^[1] columnist and current president of the Union of Cypriots.^[2][3][4]

Oz Karahan
Born	1990 (age 34–35) Istanbul, Turkey
Nationality	Cypriot
Alma mater	Anglo-American University
Organization	Union of Cypriots
Other political affiliations	Green Party of Cyprus

Life and political career

Born in Istanbul, in 1990 to a Turkish Cypriot mother and a father of Meskhetian descent, Oz Karahan moved to Famagusta when he was 15 years old.^[5] After his studies, he eventually moved to Larnaca, where the Cypriot part of his family originates from.^[6][7][8] During his childhood in Istanbul, he took part in the activities of the Turanist movements.^[9]

He graduated from Famagusta Namık Kemal High School.^[10] From a very young age, he joined and led a youth organization called Linobambaki, which was an active organisation during the 2011 Turkish Cypriot protests against Turkey.^[11][12] After completing his university studies in Anglo-American University, he became politically active in the United States, Sweden and Germany.^[13] During this time, was a member of the Communist Party USA in United States, as well as a member of the Communist Party in Sweden.^[14]

He was one of the founders of the World Union of Turkish-speaking Cypriots (WUTC),^[15] which fought against the Turkish occupation and the social and cultural oppression that Turkish Cypriots face in the occupied areas of Cyprus because of Turkey.^[16]

Oz Karahan participated in the European Parliament elections as an MEP candidate from the Jasmine Movement independents list in 2019,^[17][18] and from the Green Party of Cyprus list in 2024.^[19]

He writes in his column “Gavur Imam”^[20] for the Avrupa newspaper.^[21][22]

At the 7th International Assembly of the International League of Peoples' Struggle, he was elected as a member of the International Coordination Committee and as the Vice Chair for Europe of the organization.^[23]