Nechirvan Idris Barzani is a Kurdish politician serving as the second President of Kurdistan Region, Iraq. 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 - Hewler, the region's top ranking university located in Erbil. His rule combines of Kurdish nationalism, secularism, modernism and reforms, reforms in agriculture and women's rights.
Kurdistan Region, abbr. KRI, is an autonomous region in Iraq comprising the four Kurdish-majority governorates of Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Duhok, and Halabja, and bordering Iran, Syria, and Turkey. The Kurdistan Region encompasses most of Iraqi Kurdistan but excludes the disputed territories of Northern Iraq, contested between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the central Iraqi government in Baghdad since 1992 when autonomy was realized. The Kurdistan Region Parliament is situated in Erbil, but the constitution of the Kurdistan Region declares the disputed city of Kirkuk to be the capital of the Kurdistan Region. When the Iraqi Army withdrew from most of the disputed areas in mid-2014 because of the ISIL offensive in Northern Iraq, Kurdish Peshmerga entered the areas and held control there until Iraq retook the areas in October 2017.
Qubad Talabani is an Iraqi Kurdish politician who has been the Deputy Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region since 2014. Formerly serving as the representative of Kurdistan to the United States, Qubad is the second son of former Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.
The Parliament of Kurdistan, also called the Kurdish Parliament (IKP), is the parliament of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It is made up of representatives from the various parties, lists or slates that are elected every four years by the inhabitants of the provinces of Kurdistan Region currently governed by the Kurdistan Regional Government. In 2009 an amendment was applied to the Kurdistan Election Law of the year 1992, and since then the body was referred to as Kurdish Parliament instead of its previous name the Kurdish National Assembly.
Iraqi Kurds are people born in or residing in Iraq who are of Kurdish origin. The Kurds are the largest ethnic minority in Iraq, comprising between 15% and 20% of the country's population according to the CIA World Factbook.
Relations of Kurdistan Region of Iraq with foreign states and organizations are conducted by the Kurdistan Region. Political stability and a rapidly developing economy have given the KRG the opportunity to pursue a foreign policy independent from the central government's. The KRG's primary body for directing its foreign affairs is the Department of Foreign Relations (DFR). The DFR's foremost objectives are to raise the global profile of the Kurdistan Region, improve the Region's international ties with various governments and international organizations, and present emerging business opportunities in the Kurdistan Region to regional and international actors.
Economy in Kurdistan Region consists of the autonomous economy in Kurdistan region in northern Iraq. The Kurdistan region's economy is dominated by the oil industry, agriculture and tourism. Due to relative security and peace in the region and more economically liberal and market-oriented policies, it has a far more developed economy in comparison to other parts of Iraq. Since late 2016, the standard of living in Kurdistan Region has been lower than the rest of Iraq.
Halabja Governorate is a governorate in the autonomous region of Kurdistan Region in Iraq. The governorate was established in 2014, splitting off from Sulaymaniyah Governorate and becoming the fourth governorate in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Its capital is the city of Halabja. Halabja Governorate is the least populated Iraqi Governorate.
An independence referendum for the Kurdistan Region of Iraq was held on 25 September 2017, with preliminary results showing approximately 92.73 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.
Austria–Kurdistan Region relations are bilateral relations between Austria and the Kurdistan Region. Austria is represented in Kurdistan Region through a commercial office in Erbil since 2006, while Kurdistan Region has a representation in Vienna since 2012.
Kurdistan Region–Poland relations are bilateral relations between Kurdistan Region and Poland. Kurdistan Region is represented in Poland through a representation in Warsaw since 2004, while Poland has a consulate general in Erbil since 2012. In 2005, Polish Prime Minister Marek Belka, Foreign Minister Adam Rotfeld, Minister of National Defense Jerzy Szmajdziński and Minister of Culture Waldemar Dąbrowski met Kurdish President Masoud Barzani and Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani in Erbil and stated their support for the reconstruction of Iraq, including Kurdistan Region.
Kurdistan Region–Sweden relations are bilateral relations between Kurdistan Region and Sweden. Kurdistan Region is represented in Sweden through a representation in Stockholm since 2011, while Sweden has an embassy in Erbil since 2012.
Belgium–Kurdistan Region relations are bilateral relations between Belgium and Kurdistan Region. Belgium has no representation in Kurdistan Region and the latter has no representation in Belgium. Kurdistan Region's representation to the European Union is located in the Belgian capital of Brussels. Belgium has a military presence in Kurdistan Region with circa 30 soldiers training Kurdish soldiers (Peshmerga). In 2017, Kurdish President Massoud Barzani visited Belgium and met with Minister-President Geert Bourgeois of the federal region of Flanders, where the latter stated that the upcoming Kurdish referendum in September 2017 should be respected and Deputy Prime Minister of the federal government in Belgium Jan Jambon has stated that all nations have the right to self-determination.
Kurdistan Region–Romania relations are bilateral relations between Kurdistan Region and Romania. Ties between Romania and the Kurdistan date back to the mid-20th century when Romanian leader Nicolae Ceaușescu held meetings with Kurdish rebels fighting the regime of Saddam Hussein.
Germany–Kurdistan Region relations are bilateral relations between Germany and Kurdistan Region. Germany has a consulate general in Erbil since 2012, and Kurdistan Region has a representation in Berlin since 1992. Many high-level meetings have been held between the two parties, including a visit to Berlin by Kurdish President Masoud Barzani in 2009, where he met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. In 2014, President Barzani described Germany as "one of Kurdistan Region’s staunch allies in the war against the Islamic State." German Consul General Marc Eichhorn described the relations as "excellent".
Kurdistan Region–Slovakia relations are bilateral relations between Kurdistan Region and Slovakia. Kurdistan Region has no representation in Slovakia, and the latter has no representation in Kurdistan Region. Chairman of the Kurdistan Investment Board Herish Muharam visited Bratislava in 2012 to boost economic ties. Muharam met with Slovak Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Minister of Economy, the Executive Director of the Slovak Investment and Trade Development Agency, and the Secretary General of the Slovak Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Kurdistan Region–Spain relations are bilateral relations between Kurdistan Region and Spain. Kurdistan Region is represented in Spain through a representation in Madrid since 2010, while Spain has no representation in Kurdistan Region. When the Kurdish representation opened in Madrid, the representative Daban Shadala stated that their activities primarily focused on building confidence, trust and friendship between the two parties. These goals were accomplished according to Shadala and Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Garcia-Margallo held a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister of Kurdistan Emad Ahmad which resulted in the opening of a Spanish honorary consulate in Erbil.
Australia–Kurdistan Region relations are bilateral relations between Australia and Kurdistan Region. While Australia has no representation in Kurdistan, Kurdistan has a representative office in Sydney. Moreover, there is a Kurdish lobby in Australia. In late 2014, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott authorized the training of the Kurdish soldiers or Peshmerga and also supplied the Kurds with ordnance in September 2014. A C-130J was involved in the airlift of arms and munitions to the Kurdish forces. In April 2016, it was disclosed that an Australian Army Special Operations Task Group personnel were assisting at the "divisional level" embedded with senior Kurdish Peshmerga commanders.
Hemin Hawrami, ,, is a Kurdish politician, writer and academic. He has been the Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi Kurdistan Parliament since February 2019. He is a senior member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party. He was elected as a Member of the Kurdistan Parliament in September 2018. He was the head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party's foreign relations (2011–2017) and later a senior adviser to President Masoud Barzani (2017–2019) for political and international affairs. He holds a PhD in international relations and he has written eight books in Kurdish on Kurdish politics.
