Masoud Barzani

Masoud Barzani&mdash;also found as Massoud Barzani and Masud Barzani&mdash;is a Sunni Kurd who represented the Kurdistan Democratic Party in the July 2003 Iraqi Governing Council. Barzani is the current President of the Kurdistan Region in Iraq, making him the chief executive authority in the largely autonomous Kurdish zone in northern Iraq.

Mr Barzani has led the KDP through decades of conflict with the Iraqi central government and with local rivals, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. He commands tens of thousands of Kurdistan Region Guards, known as peshmerga.

Mr. Barzani was elected the first President of the Kurdistan Region by the Kurdistan National Assembly. He was sworn into office on 12 June 2005.

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Kurdistan - The Other Iraq
 * New Iraq
 * post-war Iraq
 * Tom Hardie-Forsyth

External articles

 * Mary Jacoby, "The rule of the turban," Salon, May 16, 2004.
 * Judith Miller, "Interview with Massoud Barzani," Wall Street Journal via judithmiller.com, October 28, 2006.
 * "President: Masoud Barzani,", Kurdistan Region Presidency, June 23, 2007.