Masrour Barzani

Who is Masrour Barzani?

Masrour Barzani is a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party leadership, son of the current Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani, and director of intelligence and security in Iraqi Kurdistan. The KDP is one of the three main Kurdish parties in Kurdistan, and is a member of the current coalition government.

He joined the Kurdish resistance fighters, known as Peshmerga or “those who face death", in 1985 at the age of 16. As such, he was an active participant in the infamous Battle of Khwakurk against Saddam Hussein’s army in 1988. He also participated in the 1991 uprising against Saddam Hussein after the first Gulf War and filmed both events.

Despite this irregular childhood given the tumultuous nature of the Kurdish resistance, Barzani was able to complete his high school education in Iran. After seeing peace restored to the region in 1992, he went to London for a year-long course in English. Having successfully completed this, he continued on to receive a bachelor’s degree with honors in International Studies from the American University in Washington, D.C. He continued studying Peace and Conflict Resolutions for his post graduate studies.