Cypriot National Guard in the context of "1974 Cypriot coup d'état"

Turkey invaded Cyprus on 20 July 1974 in an operation that progressed in two phases over the following month. Taking place upon a background of intercommunal violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, and in response to a Greek junta-sponsored Cypriot coup d'état five days earlier, it led to the Turkish capture and occupation of the northern part of the island.

The coup was ordered by the military junta in Greece and staged by the Cypriot National Guard in conjunction with EOKA B. It deposed the Cypriot president Archbishop Makarios III and installed Nikos Sampson. The aim of the coup was the union (enosis) of Cyprus with Greece, and the Hellenic Republic of Cyprus to be declared.

The Battle of Tillyria (Greek: Μάχη της Τηλλυρίας) or Battle of Kokkina (Greek: Μάχη των Κοκκίνων), also known as Erenköy Resistance (Turkish: Erenköy Direnişi), was a conflict on 6 August 1964 between units of the Cypriot National Guard and Turkish Cypriot armed groups in Kokkina area of Cyprus.

The president of Cyprus, officially the president of the Republic of Cyprus, is the head of state and the head of government of Cyprus, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Cypriot National Guard. The office was established by the Constitution of 1960, after Cyprus gained its independence from the United Kingdom.

The combination of the role of head of state and that of government is unique among member states of the European Union, making Cyprus the only EU state with a full presidential system of government.