President Barzani Marks KDP Anniversary, Calls Party's Founding a 'Historical Necessity'

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – President Masoud Barzani on Saturday issued a commemorative message on the 79th anniversary of the founding of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), describing its establishment as a “historical necessity” to sustain the Kurdish struggle and reaffirming the party's enduring role as the “hope of the people of Kurdistan.”

In the message published on Saturday, President Barzani extended his warmest congratulations to all cadres, members, supporters, and sympathizers of the party. He also directed his congratulations to the proud families of the martyrs, the heroic Peshmerga, and all segments and components of Kurdistan, wishing them well-being and honor.

The message underscored the KDP's historical mission and its ongoing commitment to peace, coexistence, and serving the nation.

President Barzani emphasized that the establishment of the KDP on August 16, 1946, was a crucial and necessary development for the continuation and extension of the struggle of the people of Kurdistan against the plots of enemies and occupiers who, he stated, were trying with all their strength to break the will of the Kurdish people. From its inception, he noted, the party has served as an instrument for defending the rights, identity, and existence of the people of Kurdistan, while simultaneously working to achieve their democratic, patriotic, and national goals.

The message also highlighted the core principles that have guided the party through all stages of its history.

President Barzani stressed that the KDP has consistently carried the message of peace and has worked to deepen the values of pluralism, brotherhood, and coexistence. In this capacity, he affirmed, the party has played its leading role well at important and decisive stages of the political history of both Kurdistan and Iraq.

"On the anniversary of the sixteenth of August and the establishment of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, we emphasize that the Party, in all stages, has carried the message of peace and the deepening of pluralism, brotherhood, and coexistence, and in this, it has played its leading role well at the important and decisive stages of the political history of Kurdistan and Iraq," President Barzani stated.

Addressing the party's supporters and members directly, President Barzani delivered a forward-looking call to action. He described the KDP as the party of the Kurdish cause, of the high values of its people, and of "Barzani's path."

He called on all party members to be at the level of the greatness of their party's history and the blood of its martyrs. Their duty, he stated, is to "perform in the best way possible the service, development, and safeguarding of Kurdistan's stability."

President Barzani concluded his message by urging all party members to maintain a strong will and hope, reiterating a core belief: "if the Party is strong, Kurdistan is strong."

The text of President Barzani's message on the 79th anniversary of the establishment of the Party:

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

On the occasion of the seventy-ninth anniversary of the establishment of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, I extend my warmest congratulations to all cadres, members, supporters, and sympathizers of the Party. I congratulate the proud families of the martyrs, the heroic Peshmerga, and all the segments and components of Kurdistan, and I wish them well-being and honor.

The establishment of the Party on the sixteenth of August 1946 was a historical necessity for the continuation and extension of the struggle of the people of Kurdistan against the plots of the enemy and the occupiers of Kurdistan, who with all their strength and ability were trying to break the will and silence the struggle of the people of Kurdistan. The Party, from the beginning of its establishment until now, has been an instrument for defending the rights, identity, and existence of the people of Kurdistan, and at the same time, it has been an instrument for achieving the democratic, patriotic, and national goals of the people of Kurdistan.

On the anniversary of the sixteenth of August and the establishment of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, we emphasize that the Party, in all stages, has carried the message of peace and the deepening of pluralism, brotherhood, and coexistence, and in this, it has played its leading role well at the important and decisive stages of the political history of Kurdistan and Iraq.

Furthermore, my message to the masses, supporters, and members of the Party is that the Party is the party of the cause and the high values of the people of Kurdistan, and the Party is the party of Barzani's path and the hope of the people of Kurdistan. Therefore, all Party members must be at the level of the greatness of their party's history and the blood of the martyrs, and they must perform their duty in the best way, which is serving, developing, and ensuring the stability of Kurdistan. I call on all Party members to have strong will and hope because if the Party is strong, Kurdistan is strong.

Masoud Barzani

August 16, 2025