The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan is a Kurdish political party in Iraqi Kurdistan. The PUK describes its goals as self-determination, human rights, and democracy and peace for the Kurdish people of Kurdistan and Iraq. The current Secretary General is Kosrat Rasul Ali. Fuad Masum, co-founder of the PUK, was the President of Iraq from 2014 to 2018. It was founded on 22 May 1975 in Iraqi Kurdistan by Adel Murad, Nawshirwan Mustafa, Ali Askari, Fuad Masum, Jalal Talabani and Abdul Razaq Feyli.
Jalal Talabani was an Iraqi Kurdish politician who served as the 8th President of Iraq from 2006 to 2014, as well as the President of the Governing Council of Iraq. He was the first non-Arab president of Iraq. He is known as Mam Jalal in the Middle East. The surname Talabani means 'scholar' in native Kurdish.
Mustafa Barzani also known as Mala Mustafa, was a Kurdish nationalist leader, and one of the most prominent political figures in modern Kurdish politics. In 1946, he was chosen as the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) to lead the Kurdish revolution against Iraqi regimes, although at times he also allied himself to the Iranian government. Barzani was the primary political and military leader of the Kurdish revolution until his death in March 1979. He led campaigns of armed struggle against both the Iraqi and Iranian governments.
Nechirvan Idris Barzani is an Iraqi Kurdish politician who has been President of the Kurdistan Region since June 2019. He previously served as Prime Minister from March 2006 to August 2009 and March 2012 to May 2019.
Idris Barzani was a Kurdish politician in Iraq. He was the brother of Massoud Barzani, the president of the KRG, and the father of Nechervan Idris Barzani. He was often on diplomatic trips for the KDP. He died on January 31, 1987, of a heart attack, aged 43.
Masoud Barzani is a Kurdish politician who was President of the Kurdistan Region Region from 2005 to 2017. However, Barzani’s post sparked controversy, as his mandate expired 19 August 2015. He is also leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) since 1979.
The Iraqi Kurdistan–Israel relations covers the historical background of relations between Kurds and Jews, and the current political and economic relations between the Iraqi Kurdistan and the State of Israel.
Nawshirwan Mustafa was an Iraqi Kurdish politician who served as the General Coordinator of the Movement for Change and the leader of the opposition in the Kurdistan Region from 1 April 2009 to his death on 19 May 2017.
The Republic of Mahabad was a short-lived Kurdish self-governing state in present-day Iran, from 22 January to 15 December 1946. The Republic of Mahabad arose alongside the Azerbaijan People's Government, a similarly short-lived state.
Ali Askari (1936–1978) was a Kurdish politician. He was a prominent leader in Iraqi Kurdistan and his political party was the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.
The Iraqi–Kurdish conflict consists of a series of wars and rebellions by the Kurds against the central authority of Iraq during the 20th century, which began shortly after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I and lasting until the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. 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. The conflict lasted until the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, though tensions between the Kurdish autonomy and the central Iraqi government have continued.
The Kurdistan Democratic Party of Syria, commonly known as KDPS or PDK-S, is a Kurdish Syrian political party founded in 1957 by Kurdish nationalists in northern Syria. The party is based in Hamburg, Germany and has various branches in France, United Kingdom, Sweden and the United States of America.
Ahmed Barzani revolt refers to the first of the major Barzani revolts and the third Kurdish nationalistic insurrection in modern Iraq. The revolt began in 1931, after Ahmed Barzani, one of the most prominent Kurdish leaders in southern Kurdistan, succeeded in unifying a number of other Kurdish tribes. The ambitious Kurdish leader enlisted a number of Kurdish leaders into the revolt, including his young brother Mustafa Barzani, who became one of the most notorious commanders during this revolt. The Barzani forces were eventually overpowered by the Iraqi Army with British support, forcing the leaders of Barzan to go underground.
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.
An independence referendum for Kurdistan Region of Iraq was held on 25 September 2017, with preliminary results showing approximately 93.25 percent of votes cast in favour of independence. Despite reporting that the independence referendum would be non-binding, the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) characterised it as binding, although they claimed that an affirmative result would trigger the start of state building and negotiations with Iraq rather than an immediate declaration of independence of Kurdistan. The referendum's legality was rejected by the federal government of Iraq.
Parliamentary elections took place in Kurdistan Region on 30 September 2018 to elect Parliament. The ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) came first in a parliamentary election in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, winning 45 seats, that positioning it to lead the next regional government. A year after a failed bid for independence, Iraq’s Kurds voted last month in a parliamentary election. Announcement of the results was delayed for three weeks. The KDP’s historic rival and junior coalition partner in government, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), was in second place with 21 seats. The results suggest that Masoud Barzani’s KDP will take a dominant position in Kurdish politics.
Bulgaria–Kurdistan Region relations are bilateral relations between Bulgaria and the Kurdistan Region. Bulgaria is represented in Kurdistan Region through a commercial office in Erbil since 2014, while Kurdistan Region has no representation in Bulgaria. In 2012, Kurdish President Massoud Barzani travelled to Bulgaria on an official visit and met with Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev and Prime Minister Boyko Borisov. In May 2017, President Barzani met with President Boyko Borislov on an official visit to Bulgaria.
