PM Barzani marks 61st anniversary of KDP Barzani’s service as a Peshmerga

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Saturday marked the 61st anniversary of President Masoud Barzani of the Kurdistan Democratic Party’s (KDP) service as a Peahmerga.

On May 20, 1962, KDP President Masoud Barzani was sworn into Peshmerga forces, fighting in the well-known Kurdish September Revolution against the former Iraqi regime.

“It has been for 61 years that His Excellency President Barzani joined the Peshmerga, in service of the Kurdistan Region’s liberation and freedom,” the premier said in a post shared on his Facebook account, along with a designed poster of Barzani during his teenagehood and adulthood. 

He extended his congratulations to Barzani and all the Region’s Peshmerga forces, wishing the Kurdish leader a long life.

In 2005, the party leader became the President of the Kurdistan Region and held that position until 2017. In the difficult years after 2003, when Iraq was undergoing severe civil strife, he spearheaded the region’s development.

As the commander-in-chief of the Kurdish armed forces, the leader commandeered the three-year fight against the so-called Islamic State terror group.

He also played a remarkable role in toppling the former Iraqi regime led by Saddam Hussein and remaking the Iraqi state to a federal entity. 

Former US President George W. Bush in a letter recently hailed Barzani’s role in Iraqi politics and the Kurdish liberation movement.

“Your leadership was essential for Iraq to begin a new chapter after the fall of Saddam Hussein,” the 43rd US president added, describing the Kurdish leader as an “indispensable partner” of the US.

The Kurdish independence referendum, where more than 90 percent of the people voted for, was led and orchestrated by Barzani.

Born on August 16, 1946, in Mahabad in Iranian Kurdistan, Barzani has been an integral figure in the Kurdish struggle for autonomy.

He is the son of the late Mustafa Barzani. Mustafa Barzani spearheaded the September Revolution, forcing the Iraqi government to recognize the Kurdish nation’s cultural and political rights for the first time in the history of the country.