Who Is Mahabad Qaradaghi? Mahabad Qaradaghi was a Kurdish Iraqi scholar born in 1966 in the Qaradagh region of Sulaymaniyah who contributed to Kurdish academic and intellectual life before his death in 2020. His name — Mahabad, recalling the city of the Kurdish Republic, and Qaradaghi, referring to his region — connects him to the traditions of Kurdish cultural and political identity. He is listed among the notable Kurdish scholars of his generation and represents the tra

Who Is Şehrîbana Kurdî? Şehrîbana Kurdî — whose pen name means 'the sweetheart of Kurdistan' or 'the beloved of the Kurds' — is a contemporary Kurdish female poet writing in Kurmanji Kurdish whose poetry gives voice to the experience of Kurdish women in the diaspora: the longing for homeland, the experience of displacement, and the feminist consciousness of a Kurdish woman navigating between cultures. Her pen name is itself a political statement — claiming Kurdistan as a

Who Is Sara Omar? Sara Omar (Kurdish: سارا عومه‌ر) is a Kurdish-Danish author, poet, and human rights activist born on 21 August 1986 in Sulaymaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan. She is the first internationally recognised female novelist from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and her debut novel Dødevaskeren ("The Dead Washer", 2017) became a literary phenomenon in Denmark — selling over 100,000 copies and being hailed by Danish media as "the MeToo of Muslim women." She writes in Danis

Who Is Dilshad Meriwani? Dilshad Meriwani was a Kurdish Iraqi singer born in 1947 in the Meriwan area of Iraqi Kurdistan who became one of the most beloved Kurdish musical voices of his generation before being killed in 1989 during the Anfal genocide — the Ba'athist campaign of mass murder against the Kurdish people that killed between 50,000 and 180,000 Kurds. His death at age 42 during the Anfal — which destroyed hundreds of Kurdish villages and killed tens of thousands

Who Is Tuncer Bakırhan? Tuncer Bakırhan is a Kurdish Turkish politician born in 1970 who serves as co-chair of the DEM Party — the successor to the HDP — continuing the tradition of Kurdish democratic political leadership in Turkey that runs from Selahattin Demirtaş through Pervin Buldan to the present. The DEM Party (Halkların Eşitlik ve Demokrasi Partisi — Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party) was formed as the successor to the HDP following court proceedings that thre

Who Is Widad Akrawi? Widad Akrawi is a Kurdish Iraqi-Swedish educator and peace builder born in 1969 in Iraqi Kurdistan who has built an internationally recognised career in education for peace, tolerance, and human rights. She is the founder and director of the Culture of Peace Initiative and has worked with UNESCO and other international organisations on education programmes in conflict and post-conflict settings. Her work brings the perspective of a Kurdish woman who e

Who Is Kajal Ahmad? Kajal Ahmad is a Kurdish Iraqi poet born in 1967 in Kirkuk — the disputed, ethnically complex, oil-rich city that has been at the centre of Kurdish-Arab-Turkmen tensions for decades — who is one of the most celebrated contemporary Kurdish female poets. Her Sorani poetry, characterised by emotional directness, feminist consciousness, and deep roots in the cultural complexity of Kirkuk, has been translated into multiple languages and brought her internatio

Who Is Sirwan Barzani? Sirwan Barzani is a Kurdish Iraqi military and political figure born in 1970, the son of Masoud Barzani, who has served as a senior Peshmerga commander and as Governor of Erbil Province. He commanded Peshmerga forces in critical battles against ISIS in 2014-2017, including in the defence of the Kirkuk area and other contested territories. He represents the military dimension of the Barzani family's leadership — the operational commander who led Pesh

Who Is Rowsch Shaways? Rowsch Shaways was a Kurdish Iraqi politician born in 1947 who served as Vice President of Iraq and as Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region — one of the most senior Kurdish statesmen of his generation. He was a senior figure in the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and served in multiple high-level positions that bridged the Kurdish regional government and the Iraqi federal government. His career spanned the armed struggle against Saddam Hussein,

Who Is Narmin Othman? Narmin Othman is a Kurdish Iraqi politician born in 1948 who served in multiple ministerial positions in the Iraqi federal government — including as Minister of Environment and Minister of Human Rights. She is a senior figure in the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and represents the Kurdish community's participation in Iraqi federal governance at the ministerial level. She is the sister of Mahmoud Othman — the independent Kurdish political voice —

Who Is Herro Mustafa? Herro Mustafa is a Kurdish Iraqi-American diplomat born in 1973 in Iraqi Kurdistan who served as the United States Ambassador to NATO from 2021 to 2023 — making her the first person of Kurdish origin to represent the United States in one of the most important diplomatic positions in the world. She was born in Iraqi Kurdistan and emigrated to the United States, building a career in American government and diplomacy. Her appointment as US Ambassador to

Who Is Houzan Mahmoud? Houzan Mahmoud is a Kurdish Iraqi women's rights activist, writer, and public intellectual born in 1973 who is based in the UK and is one of the most prominent international voices for Kurdish women's rights, secular democracy, and human rights. She co-founded the Organisation of Women's Freedom in Iraq (OWFI) and has advocated for Kurdish and Iraqi women's rights across decades of international engagement. She has been a fierce critic of political

Who Is Mehmet Şimşek? Mehmet Şimşek is a Kurdish Turkish economist and politician born in 1967 in Adıyaman — the same city as filmmaker Yılmaz Erdoğan — who has served twice as Turkey's Finance Minister: first from 2009 to 2018 under the AKP government, and again from 2023 to the present when he was recalled to restore economic credibility after a period of unorthodox monetary policy. He is widely regarded as the most internationally credible economic figure in recent Tur

Who Is Nadhim Zahawi? Nadhim Zahawi is a Kurdish Iraqi-born British politician born in 1967 in Baghdad to a Kurdish family who fled Iraq when Zahawi was nine years old, settling in the United Kingdom. He became a Conservative Party MP, co-founded the polling company YouGov, and rose to some of the most senior positions in the UK government — serving as Minister for COVID Vaccines (overseeing one of the most successful vaccination programmes in the world), Secretary of State

Who Is Hamdi Ulukaya? Hamdi Ulukaya is a Kurdish Turkish entrepreneur born in 1972 in Iğdır in eastern Turkey who founded Chobani — America's best-selling Greek yogurt brand — and built it into a company worth billions of dollars, making him one of the most successful Kurdish entrepreneurs in history. He emigrated to the United States in 1994 to study English, eventually settling in upstate New York. In 2005, he purchased a failing Kraft Foods yogurt factory in Johnstown,

Who Is Bafel Talabani? Bafel Talabani is a Kurdish Iraqi politician born in 1973, the son of former President Jalal Talabani, who serves as co-president of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) — one of Iraq's two main Kurdish political parties. He represents the new generation of Kurdish political leadership in Sulaymaniyah, carrying forward the PUK political tradition that his father founded in 1975. His leadership of the PUK alongside his co-president Lahur Sheikh Jan

Who Is Masrour Barzani? Masrour Barzani is a Kurdish Iraqi politician born in 1969, the son of Masoud Barzani and the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq since July 2019. He previously served for nearly two decades as the head of the Kurdistan Region Security Council — the intelligence and security coordination body — making him one of the most powerful figures in the Kurdistan Region's security apparatus before his transition to the Prime Ministership. He stud

Who Is Nechirvan Barzani? Nechirvan Barzani is a Kurdish Iraqi politician born in 1966 in Barzan — the son of Idris Barzani and nephew of Masoud Barzani — who has served as President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq since 2019. He previously served multiple terms as Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, making him one of the most experienced Kurdish leaders in Iraqi Kurdistan's history. He is known for his pragmatic diplomatic approach — maintaining working relationships

Who Is Selahattin Demirtaş? Selahattin Demirtaş is a Kurdish Turkish politician and poet born in 1973 in Palu, Elazığ who co-chaired the HDP from 2014 to 2018 and ran as the HDP's presidential candidate in both the 2014 and 2018 elections — the first Kurdish politician to contest Turkey's presidency as a serious candidate, winning approximately 10% of the vote in both contests. He has been imprisoned since November 2016 — arrested on terrorism charges that the European Co

Who Is Amineh Kakabaveh? Amineh Kakabaveh is a Kurdish Iranian-Swedish politician born in 1975 in Iranian Kurdistan who served as a member of the Swedish Parliament (Riksdag) — one of the most remarkable personal journeys in Kurdish history, from Peshmerga fighter in Iranian Kurdistan to elected parliamentarian in a Nordic democracy. She fought as a Peshmerga with the Komala organisation in Iranian Kurdistan as a teenager before fleeing to Europe and eventually settling i