Nechirvan Barzani

Nechirvan Idris Barzani (Nêçîrvan Barzanî نێچیرڤان بارزانی; born 21 September 1966) is a Kurdish politician serving as the second President of Kurdistan Region, Iraq.

Nechirvan Barzani was born in 1966 in Barzan, Kurdistan Region.

The name Nêçîrvan means hunter.

Barzani's surname originates from his birthplace of Barzan.

He is the grandson of Mustafa Barzani, a legendary Kurdish leader who led the Kurdish Revolution and armed resistance against the regimes of Iraq and was also the founder of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).

Nechirvan Barzani's father, Idris Mustafa Barzani, was a senior KDP leader and prominent political figure, he dedicated his entire life to fighting for the rights and freedoms of the Kurdish people alongside his father, and brother, Masoud Barzani, who served as the first president of the Kurdistan Region.

In 1975, Nechirvan Barzani and his family, along with tens of thousands of Kurds living under Iraqi rule, were forced into exile into Iran to seek safety from Iraq's Ba’ath regime which committed mass killings, forced displacement, cultural genocide, and tremendous brutality as part of its policies culminating with the Anfal genocide.

Following the footsteps of his father, uncle, and grandfather, Nechirvan Barzani became actively involved in Kurdish activism and politics.

Often accompanying his father on official political visits to Middle Eastern and European countries lobbying for the Kurdish cause, he began developing his platform of political positions based on bringing about peace, stability, and justice to the Kurdish people.

Nechirvan Barzani studied politics and international relations at the University of Tehran, Iran.

Nechirvan Barzani was first elected to the KDP central committee at its tenth Congress in 1989 and re-elected at the 11th Congress in 1993, when he assumed a position in the political bureau.

Nechirvan Barzani is commonly referred to as Nechirvan the lionheart or Nechirvan Dilê Şêr in Kurdish by his followers due to his reputation as a warrior and his resistance against the Iraqi army during the war in the 1990s.

After the 1991 Gulf War, he participated in negotiations with the Iraqi government.

In 1996, Nechirvan Barzani was appointed Deputy Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), established following the 1992 regional elections.

In 1999, Nechirvan Barzani was appointed as Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government.

He actively participated in the 2005 unification process between the main Kurdish Parties on forming a unified KRG.

In March 2006, Nechirvan Barzani lead the fifth cabinet, the first unified cabinet of the Kurdistan Regional Government.

Many of Barzani's supporters believe that he played an important role in developing the Kurdistan Region.

During his first term as prime minister, his supporters nicknamed his cabinet as "The Development Cabinet" praising his work in the development of the Kurdistan Region.

He previously served as Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government from March 2007 to August 2009 and March 2012 to May 2019.

Nechirvan Barzani is also the founder of the University Of Kurdistan Hewlêr, the region's top ranking university located in Erbil.

His rule combines aspects of Kurdish nationalism, national conservatism, economic liberalism, modernism and reforms, reforms in agriculture and women's rights.

He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree from Washington and Jefferson College in Pennsylvania, United States in a ceremony held on 17 May 2008.

Nechirvan Barzani is fluent in Kurdish, Persian, and English.

He is fond of Kurdish and Persian poetry and literature.

He is married to Nabila Barzani and they have five children together.

From September 2009 through January 2012, a Kurdish politician from the ruling KDP–PUK coalition, Barham Salih, assumed office as Prime Minister of the KRG.

Nechirvan Barzani was appointed as Vice President of the Kurdistan Democratic Party since 2010.

Nechirvan Barzani was re-elected as prime minister in 2012.

His political priorities focused on improving the standard of living in the Kurdistan Region, and strengthening peace, security, stability, foreign relations, and foreign investments.

He presided consolidation and promotion of rights for women, as well as the ethnic and religious groups in the Region.

Under his tenure, the Kurdistan Region underwent a widespread development program in its electricity, water, housing, and road infrastructure.

During his tenure, more than thirty countries established their official representation offices in the Kurdistan Region.

In 2014, the war against the Islamic State impacted the Kurdistan Region.

In addition to defense, the Kurdistan Region also hosted nearly two million displaced people who sought refuge in Kurdistan.

Also, with the fall in international oil prices and Iraq's failure to deliver the Region's budget portion, the Region also entered a massive economic crisis.

Barzani successfully used diplomatic means to rebuild relations with Baghdad and resume budgetary allotments peacefully.

Following the 2017 Kurdistan independence referendum, the Federal Iraqi Government took hostile policies and military actions against the Kurdistan Region.

Barzani used his position to again normalize relations with Baghdad and to strengthen ties with the international community with an increased international diplomacy effort.

He was elected into office by the Kurdistan Region Parliament in June 2019.