Kurdish History Journal
Narmin Othman (born 1948), Kurdish Iraqi PUK politician, served as Iraq's Minister of Environment and as Minister of Human Rights — one of the senior Kurdish women in Iraqi federal government.
Read article →Herro Mustafa (born 1973), Kurdish Iraqi-American diplomat, served as US Ambassador to NATO — the first person of Kurdish origin to represent the United States in one of the world's most important diplomatic posts.
Read article →Houzan Mahmoud (born 1973), Kurdish Iraqi women's rights activist and writer based in the UK, is one of the most prominent voices for Kurdish women's rights, secularism, and democracy on the international stage.
Read article →Mehmet Şimşek (born 1967), Kurdish Turkish economist and politician from Adıyaman, has served twice as Turkey's Finance Minister — the most internationally credible economic figure in recent Turkish government.
Read article →Nadhim Zahawi (born 1967), Kurdish Iraqi-born British politician, served in multiple senior UK Cabinet positions including Chancellor of the Exchequer — one of the highest offices ever held by a person of Kurdish origin.
Read article →Hamdi Ulukaya (born 1972), Kurdish Turkish entrepreneur from Iğdır, founded Chobani — America's best-selling Greek yogurt brand — and became a billionaire and major philanthropist championing refugee rights.
Read article →Bafel Jalal Talabani became PUK co-president in 2020 and sole president in 2022. This dated profile covers his background, the split with Lahur Talabany and public positions through October 2026.
Read article →Masrour Barzani is a Kurdish politician who became prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s ninth cabinet in July 2019. His earlier career combined party work and intelligence administration, including appointment as Security Council chancellor in 2012.
Read article →Nechirvan Barzani (born 1966), KDP politician and nephew of Mustafa Barzani, is President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq — one of the most internationally connected Kurdish leaders and a key figure in regional diplomacy.
Read article →Selahattin Demirtaş (born 1973), Kurdish Turkish politician and poet, co-chaired the HDP and ran twice for Turkey's presidency — imprisoned since 2016 in defiance of European Court of Human Rights orders for his release.
Read article →Amineh Kakabaveh, born in 1970, served in Sweden’s Riksdag from 2008 to 2022. Her record includes social work, campaigns against honour-based oppression, parliamentary proposals and a prominent role in the votes of 2021–22.
Read article →Asya Abdullah (born 1967), Kurdish Syrian politician and PYD co-chair, was central to implementing Rojava's gender equality principles — co-leadership, women's councils, and the YPJ — in the autonomous administration.
Read article →Gültan Kışanak (born 1961), Kurdish Turkish politician, served as co-mayor of Diyarbakır — transforming the city culturally and politically — before being removed and imprisoned by the Turkish state in 2016.
Read article →Pervin Buldan (born 1965), Kurdish Turkish politician from Izmir, served as co-chair of Turkey's HDP — one of the most senior Kurdish women in Turkish political history and a tireless advocate for Kurdish and women's rights.
Read article →Barham Salih served as Iraq’s president from 2018 to 2022 and became UN High Commissioner for Refugees on 1 January 2026. His career spans Kurdish and federal government, university founding and international protection.
Read article →Zakia Hakki (born 1939), Kurdish Iraqi judge and politician, was the first woman to serve as a judge in Iraqi history and later one of the first female members of the Iraqi Governing Council after 2003.
Read article →Mala Bakhtiyar, also known as Hikmat Muhammad Karim, is an Iraqi Kurdish politician and writer associated with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. His public record includes party leadership, political publications, referendum diplomacy and an independent application for Iraq’s presidency in 2026.
Read article →Kosrat Rasul Ali (born 1950), Kurdish Iraqi PUK politician and Peshmerga commander, served as Vice President of the Kurdistan Region — a senior military and political figure in Iraqi Kurdish history.
Read article →Salih Muslim (born 1951), co-chair of the PYD (Democratic Union Party) of Syrian Kurdistan, was one of the key architects of the Rojava autonomous administration established during the Syrian civil war.
Read article →Abdulla Mohtadi (born 1947), Secretary-General of Komala (Kurdistan Organisation of the Communist Party of Iran), has led one of the most significant Kurdish leftist organisations for decades from Iraqi Kurdistan exile.
Read article →Sedigh Kamangar (born 1967), Kurdish Iranian teacher from Kurdistan Province, was sentenced to death then to 28 years in prison — one of the longest-serving political prisoners in Iran — for his Kurdish educational activism.
Read article →Fuad Hussein (born 1947), Kurdish Iraqi PUK politician and scholar, served as Iraq's Foreign Minister from 2020 — a senior Kurdish diplomat who was also Jalal Talabani's chief of staff for many years.
Read article →Latif Rashid (born 1944), Kurdish Iraqi PUK politician, became President of Iraq in October 2022 — the third Kurdish person to hold Iraq's highest office, succeeding Barham Salih.
Read article →Dengir Mir Mehmet Fırat (1943-2021), Kurdish politician from Urfa, was a co-founder of Turkey's AKP party and served as its deputy chair — the most senior Kurd in Turkey's governing party for years.
Read article →