The president of Northern Cyprus is the head of state of the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Rauf Denktaş was the first and founding president of Northern Cyprus, and retired in 2005. His position was taken over by Mehmet Ali Talat, followed by Derviş Eroğlu, then Mustafa Akıncı, Ersin Tatar, and the current president, Tufan Erhürman.