Qubad Talabani ( ku, قوباد تاڵەبانی) (born 21 July 1977) is an Iraqi Kurdish politician who has been the Deputy 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, ...
since 2014. Formerly serving as the representative of Kurdistan to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, Qubad is the second son of former Iraqi President
Jalal Talabani
Jalal Talabani ( ku, مام جەلال تاڵەبانی, translit=Celal Talebanî; ar, جلال طالباني ; 1933 – 3 October 2017) was an Iraqi Kurdish politician who served as the sixth president of Iraq from 2006 to 2014, as well as ...
.
Early life
Deputy Prime Minister Talabani was born in 1977 and grew up in
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
with his maternal grandparents,
Ibrahim Ahmed, a novelist, poet and a founder of the modern intellectual
Kurdish
Kurdish may refer to:
*Kurds or Kurdish people
*Kurdish languages
*Kurdish alphabets
*Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes:
**Southern Kurdistan
**Eastern Kurdistan
**Northern Kurdistan
**Western Kurdistan
See also
* Kurd (dis ...
movement and Galawejh Ahmed (also a novelist). His family has been involved in Kurdish politics for decades; His father,
Jalal Talabani
Jalal Talabani ( ku, مام جەلال تاڵەبانی, translit=Celal Talebanî; ar, جلال طالباني ; 1933 – 3 October 2017) was an Iraqi Kurdish politician who served as the sixth president of Iraq from 2006 to 2014, as well as ...
, was the President of the
Republic of Iraq
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
from 2005 until 2014.
After graduating from High School, he obtained a Diploma in Motor Vehicle Engineering at
Carshalton College
South Thames Colleges Group (STCG) is a large further education institution operating four colleges in south-west London: South Thames College, Kingston College, Merton College, and Carshalton College. The four main campuses are in Wandsworth, ...
, and later received a degree in Mechanical Engineering at the
Kingston University
, mottoeng = "Through Learning We Progress"
, established = – gained University Status – Kingston Technical Institute
, type = Public
, endowment = £2.3 m (2015)
, ...
in London.
Political career
From 2001 to 2003, Qubad worked as a special assistant to
Barham Salih
Barham Salih ( ku, بەرھەم ساڵح, Berhem Salih; ar, برهم صالح; born 12 September 1960) is an Iraqi Kurdish politician who served as the eighth president of Iraq from 2018 to 2022.
He is the former prime minister of the Kurdista ...
, at that time the Representative of the
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK; ku, یەکێتیی نیشتمانیی کوردستان, translit=Yekîtiya Nîştimanî ya Kurdistanê) is a political party active in Kurdistan Region and the disputed territories in Iraq. The PUK describe ...
(one of Iraq's leading Kurdish political parties) in Washington D.C., and later as the Deputy PUK Representative.
[ In 2003, he returned to ]Kurdistan
Kurdistan ( ku, کوردستان ,Kurdistan ; lit. "land of the Kurds") or Greater Kurdistan is a roughly defined geo-cultural territory in Western Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, Kurdish la ...
for one year and served as the PUK's Senior Foreign Relations officer to the coalition forces and the Coalition Provisional Authority
)
, capital = Baghdad
, largest_city = capital
, common_languages = ArabicKurdishEnglish (''de facto'')
, government_type = Transitional government
, legislature = Iraqi Governing Council
, title_leader = Administrator
, leader1 = Jay ...
. He also acted as a liaison officer between the PUK and U.S. military forces in 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 Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
. He was a leading negotiator in the drafting of the Transitional Administrative Law (TAL), the first Iraqi constitution since the overthrow of 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 ...
.[''The Huffington Post'']
/ref>
In April 2004, Qubad returned to the US, and was stationed as the Representative of the PUK and Kurdistan.
In 2006, with the unification of the two administrations in Kurdistan
Kurdistan ( ku, کوردستان ,Kurdistan ; lit. "land of the Kurds") or Greater Kurdistan is a roughly defined geo-cultural territory in Western Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, Kurdish la ...
and following the forming of the Democratic Patriotic Alliance of Kurdistan
The Democratic Patriotic Alliance of Kurdistan (DPAK) sometimes referred to simply as the Kurdistan Alliance (KA) is the name of the electoral coalition first presented as a united Kurdish list in the January 2005 election in Iraq. Elections were ...
and the establishment of the Kurdish National Assembly
The Parliament of Kurdistan ( ku, پەرلەمانی كوردستان ,Perlemanê Kurdistanê or simply Perleman, ar, برلمان كردستان, links=https://www.parliament.krd/arabic/), also called the Kurdish Parliament (IKP), is the parl ...
, Qubad was appointed as the first representative of the Kurdistan Region, a position he has held until 2012 In 2014 he was nominated Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Kurdistan region and was involved in the implementation of the biometric registration system for government employees.
He was first sworn in as Deputy Prime Minister of the KRG Cabinet in June 2014, where he took office. Receiving no fiscal transfers from the Government of Iraq
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, as wel ...
(GoI), coupled with rapidly declining oil prices, the Kurdistan region was in the midst of a severe financial crisis. Moreover, the Islamic State
An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
was rampaging its way throughout Iraq, claiming territory and establishing itself as one of history's most brutal terrorist organizations, resulting in a major humanitarian crisis that forced 1.8 million people to flee war and violence and seek refuge in the Kurdistan region. During this period, the KRG successfully oversaw a package of reforms.
A major part of the KRG's economic reform plan included improving oversight of government expenditures. To that end, Talabani successfully oversaw the design and implementation of his government's biometric registration program.
During the KRG's Seventh Cabinet, Talabani established and headed up the Department of Coordination and Follow-up to facilitate inter-ministerial coordination. He directed that KRG agency on behalf of the Prime Minister for two years.
In the parliamentary elections of the Kurdistan region of 2018 he was elected to parliament but he did not assume his post.
In the fourth congress of the PUK in December 2019, he was appointed to the leadership council of the PUK.
Personal life
Talabani is the son of Jalal Talabani
Jalal Talabani ( ku, مام جەلال تاڵەبانی, translit=Celal Talebanî; ar, جلال طالباني ; 1933 – 3 October 2017) was an Iraqi Kurdish politician who served as the sixth president of Iraq from 2006 to 2014, as well as ...
and Hero Ibrahim Ahmed
Hero Ibrahim Ahmed (born 12 June 1948) is the former First Lady of Iraq and the widow of Jalal Talabani.
Early life
She was born on 12 June 1948 to an active political family that was struggling against Kurdish oppression in Iraq. Her father, Ib ...
and lives in Erbil
Erbil, also called Hawler (, ar, أربيل, Arbīl; syr, ܐܲܪܒܹܝܠ, Arbel), is the capital and most populated city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It lies in the Erbil Governorate. It has an estimated population of around 1,600,000.
Hu ...
with his wife Sherri Kraham to who he got married in 2005 in Il Castello del Palagio in Italy. The couple have two children, Ari and Lara.
References
External links
Qubad Talabani's blog
Profile
at SourceWatch
The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) is a progressive nonprofit watchdog and advocacy organization based in Madison, Wisconsin. CMD publishes ExposedbyCMD.org, SourceWatch.org, and ALECexposed.org.
History
CMD was founded in 1993 by progr ...
*
* List of presidents of Iraq
This is a list of presidents of Iraq since the formation of the Iraqi Republic in 1958.
List of officeholders
Timeline
ImageSize = width:1000 height:250
PlotArea = top:3 bottom:120 right:70 left:20
AlignBars = late
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Talabani, Qubad
1977 births
Living people
Alumni of Kingston University
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan politicians
Children of national leaders
Kurdish politicians
Government of Kurdistan Region
People from Damascus