PM Masrour Barzani appoints new envoy to US

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Monday appointed a new envoy to the United States, replacing Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman who had served in the position for eight years.

Treefa Aziz has been appointed by PM Barzani as the new KRG representative to the US, a government statement officially announced.

Prior to becoming the KRG envoy, Ms. Aziz previously worked as the senior advisor for PM Barzani, per the statement, adding she has more than 25 years of work experience in US government relations, working in both public and private sectors.

She is the second woman to assume the position since 2015.

Serving for eight years in the position, Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman will return back to the Kurdistan Region and become PM Barzani’s senior advisor for foreign affairs and climate change, the statement added.

The Prime Minister’s Office extended its congratulations to both officials on the new appointments.

Ms. Abdul Rahman has previously served as the KRG Representative to the UK for 10 years.

Hailing from Khanaqin, a Kurdish-majority city in Diyala province, Ms. Aziz migrated to the United States in 1977 with her family, fleeing from political persecution and the tyranny of the Ba’athist regime and Saddam Hussein.

Following the 1991 Gulf War, she became the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) Representative in Washington, DC.

A graduate of political science and English language from James Madison University, Ms. Aziz holds a Juris Doctorate (JD) from the Washington College of Law at American University in Washington, DC. She is also a member of the Virginia State Bar.