Massoud Barzani

Massoud Barzani
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1st President of Iraqi Kurdistan
Massoud Barzani

Incumbent
Assumed office June 14, 2005
Vice President	Kosret Eli Resul

Born	August 16, 1946 (1946-08-16) (age 61) Mahabad, Iran
Political party	Kurdistan Democratic Party
Religion	Islam

Massoud Barzani (Kurdish: مه‌سعوود بارزانی, Mesûd Barzanî) (born August 16, 1946) is the President of the Autonomous Kurdish Government in Iraq and leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party. Barzani was born in Mahabad, Iran, during the rule of the Republic of Mahabad. He has five sons and three daughters.

1 KDP
2 Bibliography
3 Notes
4 External links
5 References

KDP

Massoud Barzani succeeded his father, the former Kurdish nationalist leader Mustafa Barzani, as the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in 1979.

In 1995, he requested help from the Iraqi government to capture the city of Arbil from the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) led by the current President of Iraq, Jalal Talabani, also a Kurd. Mr. Talabani obtained support from Iran in that struggle.

Barzani led the KDP in establishing a government in Iraqi Kurdistan with the PUK. After the invasion of Iraq he became a member of the Iraqi Governing Council and was the president of the council in April 2004. He was elected as the President of the Iraqi Kurdistan region by the Iraqi Kurdistan's Parliament in June 2005.^[1]

The Barzani family are often accused of corruption and nepotism. members of the family are found in many leading positions in the KDP-controleld parts of Kurdistan . The Barzanis are known to have amassed a considerable fortune after 1991, owning or controlling a large number of businesses, indluding the KOREK mobile phone company, several departement stores and a chain of hotels. A recent estimate puts the Barzani family fortune at 2 billion USD. ^[2]