Kurdish History Journal
Kajal Ahmad (born 1967), Kurdish Iraqi poet from Kirkuk, writes Sorani poetry of extraordinary emotional intensity — one of the most celebrated contemporary Kurdish female poets and a voice of Kirkuk's complex identity.
Read article →Sirwan Barzani (born 1970), Kurdish Iraqi KDP military and political figure, commanded Peshmerga forces in critical battles against ISIS and served as Governor of Erbil Province.
Read article →Rowsch Shaways (1947-2021), Kurdish Iraqi PUK politician, served as Vice President of Iraq and Kurdistan Region Prime Minister — a senior Kurdish statesman whose career bridged the armed struggle and the democratic era.
Read article →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 Talabani (born 1973), co-president of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and son of President Jalal Talabani, leads one of Iraq's two main Kurdish parties into the contemporary era.
Read article →Masrour Barzani (born 1969), son of Masoud Barzani, serves as Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq since 2019 — previously the head of the Kurdistan Region Security Council for nearly two decades.
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 1975), Kurdish Iranian-Swedish politician and former Peshmerga fighter, served as a member of the Swedish Parliament — one of the most remarkable journeys from Kurdish armed struggle to European democracy.
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 (born 1960), Kurdish Iraqi PUK politician and economist, served as President of Iraq 2018-2022 and Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region — one of the most internationally recognised Kurdish statesmen.
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 (born 1953), senior member of the PUK political bureau from Sulaymaniyah, has been one of the most influential political figures in the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan across four decades.
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 →