Masrour Barzani () (born 2 March 1969) is a Kurdish politician and serving as prime minister of the

Kurdistan Region Kurdistan Region ( ku, هەرێمی کوردستان, translit=Herêmî Kurdistan; ar, إقليم كردستان), abbr. KRI, is an autonomous region in Iraq comprising the four Kurdish-majority governorates of Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Duhok, ...

, an autonomous region of Iraq, since June 2019. He is also the chancellor of the Kurdistan Region Security Council and a member of the

Kurdistan Democratic Party The Kurdistan Democratic Party ( ku, Partiya Demokrat a Kurdistanê; پارتی دیموکراتی کوردستان), usually abbreviated as KDP or PDK, is the largest party in Iraqi Kurdistan and the senior partner in the Kurdistan Regional Gov ...

. He was sworn in as prime minister of the KRG’s ninth cabinet on 10 June 2019, after receiving 87 votes out of 97 legislators in the Kurdistan parliament.

Early life and education

He joined the Kurdish resistance fighters, known as

Peshmerga The Peshmerga ( ku, پێشمەرگه, Pêşmerge, lit=those who face death) is the Kurdish military forces of the autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq. According to the Constitution of Iraq, the Peshmerga, along with their security subsidiaries ...

or “those who face death", in 1985 at the age of 16. He was an active participant in the Battle of Khwakurk against

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolution ...

’s army in 1988. He also participated in the 1991 uprising against

after the first

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

and filmed both events. Despite this irregular childhood given the tumultuous nature of the Kurdish resistance, Barzani was able to complete his high school education in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Tu ...

. After seeing peace restored to the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

in 1992, he went to London for a year-long course in English. Having successfully completed this, he continued on to receive a bachelor's degree with honors in International Studies from the

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was char ...

in Washington, D.C. He continued studying Peace and Conflict Resolutions for his post graduate studies. During his time in Washington, Barzani was actively involved in improving understanding of the Kurdish plight in America. He also established a Barzani Scholar-in-Residence program at American University in order to continue these efforts into the future.

Political career

In 1998, he returned to

and was elected by the KDP's 12th Congress to the Central Committee. Later that same year he became part of the

Leadership before being appointed as General Director of the Protection and Intelligence Agency. In 2010, he received the highest votes of the 13th Congress, was reelected to the Leadership Council and then selected as one of the Politburo members of the KDP. In 2012, he was appointed by his father Kurdistan Region President

Masoud Barzani Masoud Barzani ( ku, ,مه‌سعوود بارزانی, translit=Mesûd Barzanî}; born 16 August 1946) is a Kurdish politician who has been leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) since 1979, and was President of the Kurdistan Region o ...

as Chancellor of the Kurdistan Region Security Council to oversee security, military intelligence and existing intelligence services. Under his stewardship, women have been officially added to the Kurdish security services and many can now be seen publicly serving as guards outside government buildings. He was a vocal critic of many of the proposals found in the

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

Study Group, authoring a Washington Post op-ed on the subject. Masrour Barzani with Stephen Townsend in Erbil, Iraq, 2016

Barzani has also been credited with working to ensure that veterans of the Kurdish struggle who are members of his father's political party receive their pensions. In a January 2010 interview with the Jamestown Foundation, Masrour Barzani said that the

i Constitution has laid out a clear solution for the status of the city of

Kirkuk Kirkuk ( ar, كركوك, ku, کەرکووک, translit=Kerkûk, , tr, Kerkük) is a city in Iraq, serving as the capital of the Kirkuk Governorate, located north of Baghdad. The city is home to a diverse population of Turkmens, Arabs, Kurds, ...

and other disputed areas. In May 2016, Barzani authored a second op-ed in the Washington Post advocating an 'amicable' separation of

Iraqi Kurdistan Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan ( ku, باشووری کوردستان, Başûrê Kurdistanê) refers to the Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of " Kurdistan" in Western Asia, which also in ...

from the rest of Iraq. He called Iraq 'a conceptual failure, compelling peoples with little in common to share an uncertain future,' and announced the beginning of talks with the

Iraqi Government The federal government of Iraq is defined under the current Constitution, approved in 2005, as an Islamic, democratic, federal parliamentary republic. The federal government is composed of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, ...

in the lead up to a referendum.

Barzani Charity Foundation (BCF)

In 2005, he founded the Barzani Charity Foundation in

. The non-profit charity organization provides aid to the internally displaced, refugees as well as vulnerable locals, and is modeled on the life, struggle and principles of his Grandfather

Mustafa Barzani Mustafa Barzani ( ku, مەلا مسته‌فا بارزانی, Mistefa Barzanî; 14 March 1903 – 1 March 1979) also known as Mela Mustafa (Preacher Mustafa), was a Kurdish leader, general and one of the most prominent political figures in mod ...

. Its Orphan Sponsorship Program provides a monthly stipend to cover living expenses, health care and education to orphans.

Fight against ISIS

Masrour Barzani is one of the most important figures in the international coalition against Daesh. His Security Council, and its elite special forces is attached to the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), which has led targeted airstrikes against senior Daesh figures in Iraq and Syria, and rescue missions of hostages.

The American University of Kurdistan (AUK)

Masrour Barzani is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of The American University of Kurdistan (AUK). He laid the cornerstone of the project during a ceremony in

Duhok Duhok ( ku, دهۆک, translit=Dihok; ar, دهوك, Dahūk; syr, ܒܝܬ ܢܘܗܕܪܐ, Beth Nohadra) is a city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It's the capital city of Duhok Governorate. History The city's origin dates back to the Stone ...

province in December 2013.

Kurdistan Region Premiership

Following a KDP leadership meeting on 3 December 2018, the party's spokesperson Mahmoud Mohammed named Masrour Barzani for the post of the region's Prime Minister position. in June 2019, Masrour Barzani officially elected as prime minister of Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

References

External links

Kurdistan Regional Government
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barzani, Masrour 1969 births Living people Iraqi Kurdish people Prime Ministers of Kurdistan Region Kurdish politicians Iraqi politicians Kurdistan Democratic Party politicians Government of Kurdistan Region American University alumni