Jalal Talabani was an Iraqi politician who served as the sixth president of Iraq from 2005 to 2014, as well as the president of the Governing Council of Iraq. He was ethnically Kurdish.
Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan refers to the Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of Greater Kurdistan in West Asia, which also includes parts of southeastern Turkey, northern Syria, and northwestern Iran. Much of the geographical and cultural region of Iraqi Kurdistan is part of the Kurdistan Region (KRI), a semi-autonomous region recognized by the Constitution of Iraq. As with the rest of Kurdistan, and unlike most of the rest of Iraq, the region is inland and mountainous.
Mustafa Barzani, also known as Mullah Mustafa, was a Kurdish nationalist leader and one of the most prominent political figures in modern Kurdish politics.
Nechirvan Idris Barzani is an Iraqi Kurdish politician serving as the second President of the Kurdistan Region. He was elected into office by the Kurdistan Region Parliament in June 2019. Nechirvan Barzani was appointed as Vice President of the Kurdistan Democratic Party since 2010. He previously served as Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government from March 2007 to August 2009 and March 2012 to May 2019. Nechirvan Barzani is also the founder of the University Of Kurdistan Hewlêr, the region's top ranking university located in Erbil.
The flag of Kurdistan is the flag of Kurds and was created by the Society for the Rise of Kurdistan in 1920. It would later, in different variants, be adopted as the national flag of different Kurdish states including Republic of Ararat, Republic of Mahabad and most recently by Kurdistan Region in 1992. Moreover, the Kingdom of Kurdistan used the crescent flag which was also considered a Kurdish flag.
The Kingdom of Kurdistan was a short-lived Kurdish state proclaimed in the city of Sulaymaniyah following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. It lasted from September 1921 until July 1925. Officially, the territory involved was under the jurisdiction of the British Mandate of Mesopotamia.
Kurdistan Region (KRI) is a semi-autonomous federal region of the Republic of Iraq. It comprises four Kurdish-majority governorates of Arab-majority Iraq: Erbil Governorate, Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Duhok Governorate, and Halabja Governorate. It is located in northern Iraq, which shares borders with Iran to the east, Turkey to the north, and Syria to the west.
Sheikh Mahmud Barzanji, also known as Mahmud Hafid Zadeh was a Kurdish leader of a series of Kurdish uprisings against the British Mandate of Iraq. He was sheikh of a Qadiriyah Sufi family of the Barzanji clan from the city of Sulaymaniyah, which is now in Kurdistan Region. He was named King of Kurdistan during several of these uprisings.
Masoud Barzani is a Kurdish politician who has been leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) since 1979, and was President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq from 2005 to 2017.
The 2005 Constitution of Iraq defines Iraq for the first time as a federal country.
Ahmed Mohammad Barzani, also known as Khudan, was a Kurdish leader of the Barzani tribe. The first of the major Barzani revolts took place in 1931 after Sheikh Ahmed Barzani, one of the most prominent Kurdish leaders in Iraqi Kurdistan, succeeded in defeating a number of other Kurdish tribes as well as regular Iraqi troops. He was the head of the Barzani tribe in Kurdistan. Sheikh Ahmed is considered to be the architect of Barzani rule in Iraqi Kurdistan. He was a Kurdish nationalist who brought many different Kurdish tribes under his command and expanded the Barzan region. Along with his younger brother Mustafa Barzani, he fought against the Iraqi government in the 1920s and 1930s.
Kifri is the central town of Kifri District in Diyala Governorate, Iraq. It has a mixed population of Arabs, Kurds and Turkmen. It is under de facto administration by Kurdistan Region, but remains a disputed area claimed by the central government.
The Kurdistan Democratic Party, usually abbreviated as KDP or PDK, is the ruling party in Iraqi Kurdistan and the senior partner in the Kurdistan Regional Government. It was founded in 1946 in Mahabad in Iranian Kurdistan. The party states that it combines "democratic values and social justice to form a system whereby everyone in Kurdistan can live on an equal basis with great emphasis given to rights of individuals and freedom of expression."
The Iraqi–Kurdish conflict consists of a series of wars, rebellions and disputes between the Kurds and the central authority of Iraq starting in the 20th century shortly after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I. Some put the marking point of the conflict beginning to the attempt by Mahmud Barzanji to establish an independent Kingdom of Kurdistan, while others relate to the conflict as only the post-1961 insurrection by the Barzanis.
Mahmud Barzanji revolts were a series of armed uprisings by Kurdish Sheykh Mahmud Barzanji against the Iraqi authority in newly conquered British Mesopotamia and later the British Mandate in Iraq. Following his first insurrection in May 1919, Sheykh Mahmud was imprisoned and eventually exiled to India for a one-year period. When returning, he was once again appointed a governor, but shortly revolted again declaring himself as the ruler of the Kingdom of Kurdistan. The Kingdom of Kurdistan lasted from September 1922 – July 1924. With British forces greatly exceeding his in ammunition and training, the defeat finally subdued the region to central British Iraqi rule in 1924. Sheykh Mahmud retreated into mountains, and eventually reached terms with the independent Kingdom of Iraq in 1932, over his return from the underground. Sheykh Mahmud revolts are considered the first chapter of the modern Iraqi–Kurdish conflict.
The 1943–1945 Barzani revolt was a Kurdish nationalistic insurrection in the Kingdom of Iraq, during World War II. The revolt was led by Mustafa Barzani and was later joined by his older brother Ahmed Barzani, the leader of the previous Kurdish revolt in Iraq. The revolt, initiating in 1943, was eventually put down by the Iraqi assault in late 1945, combined with the defection of a number of Kurdish tribes. As a result, the Barzanis retreated with much of their forces into Iranian Kurdistan, joining the local Kurdish elements in establishing the Republic of Mahabad.
The Peshmerga have historically been Kurdish guerrilla forces combating the ruling powers in the region of what is now Iraqi Kurdistan. The term "Peshmerga" refers to those who face death, and the forces have long been an essential element in the Kurdish fight for autonomy and recognition.
Sheikh Jaafar Sheikh Mustafa is the current Vice President of Kurdistan Region under Nechirvan Idris Barzani's administration. He is from Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.
The Kurdish state was an autonomous government in Southern Kurdistan that existed from October 1918 to June 1919.
Kurdish political violence refers to politically motivated acts of violence committed by Kurds with the motive of achieving improved rights, self-determination, recognition, freedom of prisoners, autonomy, independence, or other goals. While Kurdish political violence mostly occurred in Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria, it later spread internationally.
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