Agitation among Greek Cypriots for Enosis, union with Greece. The ethnic Turks on the island, who constituted about 20 percent of the population, adamantly opposed it.
British submission of the Winster Constitution, which granted greater autonomy to Cyprus. It was rejected outright by the Greek Cypriot community under the leadership of the Greek Orthodox Church.
Greek Orthodox officials conducted a referendum on Cyprus's future in which 95.7 percent of the Greek Cypriot electorate voted for Enosis. The Greek government made the absorption of Cyprus an official national policy (Feb. 11, 1951).
Election of Michael Mouskos, bishop of Citium, as ArchbishopMAKARIOS III. He quickly became the central figure in the struggle for Cypriot independence. After his election as the first president of Cyprus (1961), he pursued pragmatic policies that aimed to preserve the binational character of the Cypriot state and peaceful relations among the island's communities.
