Jalal Talabani

Jalal Talabani (born 1933) is a seasoned Iraqi Kurdish politician, who was named State President of Iraq on April 6, 2005 by the Iraqi National Assembly. Talabani is founder and secretary general of one of the main Iraqi Kurdish political parties the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). He was also a prominent member of the Interim Iraq Governing Council, which was established following the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Early life

Talabani was born in the village of Kelkan in Iraqi Kurdistan. He had joined the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) at the age of 14, and was elected to the party's central committee at the age of 18 in 1951. He was the head of the KDP politburo during the 1960s, and an emerging figure in Kurdish politics.

Related Topics:
Kelkan - Iraqi Kurdistan - Kurdish Democratic Party - 1951 - Politburo - 1960s

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