Jalal Talabani

Jalal Talabani (, ; 1933 – 3 October 2017) was an Iraqi Kurdish politician who served as the 6th president of Iraq from 2005 to 2014, as well as the president of the Governing Council of Iraq.

Talabani was the founder and secretary-general of one of the main Kurdish political parties, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). He was a prominent member of the Interim Iraq Governing Council, which was established following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Talabani was an advocate for Kurdish rights and democracy in Iraq for more than 50 years.

Early life Talabani was born in Kelkan village, and his father was Sheikh Husameddin Nurullah, from the Talabani branch of the Zangana tribe, while his mother was from the Mangur tribe.

Talabani received his elementary and intermediate school education in Koy Sanjaq and his high school education in Erbil and Kirkuk. In 1953, he began to study law at the Baghdad University. He had to flee into exile in Syria in 1956, in order to prevent an arrest for being involved in activities of the Kurdish Students Union. Residing in Damascus, he was involved in the establishment the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Syria (KDPS). He later returned to Iraq and gained a degree in 1959.

In March 1962, he led a coordinated Peshmerga offensive that brought about the liberation of the district of Sharbazher from Iraqi government forces. This agreement was the 1975 Algiers Agreement, where Iraq gave up claims to the Shatt al-Arab (Arvand Rūd) waterway and Khuzestan, which later became the basis for the Iran–Iraq War.

In 1976, he began organizing an armed campaign for Kurdish independence inside Iraqi Kurdistan. From 1977 onwards, he established the PUK base within Iranian Kurdistan in Nawkhan and another one in Iraqi Kurdistan in Qandil. During the 1980s, Talabani sided with Iran and led a Kurdish struggle from bases inside Iraq until the crackdown against Kurdish separatists from 1987 to 1988.

In 1991, he helped inspire a renewed effort for Kurdish independence. He was given a Turkish passport by the then-president Turgut Özal in 1992 in order to help Talabani travel freely. He returned the passport in 2003.

Talabani pursued a negotiated settlement to the Iraqi Kurdish Civil War, as well as the larger issue of Kurdish rights in the current regional context. In close coordination with Masoud Barzani, Talabani and the Kurds played a key role as a partner of the U.S. led Coalition in the invasion of Iraq.

Talabani was a member of the Iraqi Governing Council which negotiated the Transitional Administrative Law (TAL), Iraq's interim constitution.

On 22 April 2006, Talabani began his second term as President of Iraq, becoming the first President elected under the country's new constitution. His office was part of the Presidency Council of Iraq. A statement on the President's official website said that he was being treated for blocked arteries. On 20 December, Talabani's condition had improved enough to allow travel to Germany for treatment. The head of Talabani's medical team in Iraq had been Governor Najmiddin Karim. On 19 July 2014, Jalal Talabani returned to Iraq after more than 18 months of medical treatment. Due to his absence from politics, as a result of his illness, the PUK became consumed by a succession crisis. He died a few days after the referendum about the independence of Iraqi Kurdistan was approved by the voters. Masoud Barzani, President of Kurdistan Regional Government and for years his Kurdish rival, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi also announced three days of mourning in the country. His state funeral was held on 6 October 2017. Millions turned out across the cities and memorials were held across the globe.

Personal life Talabani was married to Hero Ibrahim Ahmed, daughter of Ibrahim Ahmed. They had two sons, Bafel and Qubad. Qubad is the deputy prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Erbil since 2014. His nephew is Lahur Talabany.