Jalal Talabani

Who is Jalal Talabani?

Jalal Talabani is a leading Kurdish politician who served as the sixth President of Iraq from 2005 to 2014. He was the first non-Arab president of Iraq, although Abdul Karim Qasim was of partial Kurdish heritage. He is known as "Mam Jalal" meaning "uncle Jalal" among Kurdish people.

Talabani is the founder and has been secretary general of one of the main Kurdish political parties, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. He was a prominent member of the Interim Iraq Governing Council, which was established following the overthrow of the Saddam Hussein regime by the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Talabani has been an advocate for Kurdish rights and democracy in Iraq for more than 50 years. Apart from his native Kurdish, Talabani is fluent in Arabic, Persian, and English. Talabani is a member of the Socialist International.