Prime Minister of Kurdistan Region facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Prime Minister of Kurdistan Region
Political Emblem
Incumbent Masrour Barzani since 10 June 2019
Appointer	Kurdistan Region Parliament
Term length	Four years, renewable
Inaugural holder	Fuad Masum (de facto) Nechirvan Barzani (de jure)
Formation	4 July 1992 (de facto) 1 March 2006 (de jure)

The Prime Minister of Kurdistan Region is the main leader of the Kurdistan Regional Government. This government runs the semi-independent Kurdistan Region in northern Iraq. The people of Kurdistan elect their government through the Kurdistan Region Parliament.

Leaders of Kurdistan

Early Years (1992–2005)

After the 1992 election, two main groups, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), each won 50 out of 100 seats. They decided to form a single government together. This government was not recognized by Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

Iraqi Kurdistan after the 1998 cease-fire. Green areas were controlled by the PUK, and yellow areas by the KDP.

However, this shared government did not last long. In 1994, a civil war started, which went on until 1998. Because of this war, two separate Kurdistan Regional Governments were set up in 1996. One was controlled by the KDP in Erbil, and the other by the PUK in Sulaymaniyah. Each of these had its own Prime Minister.

PUK-Controlled Area Prime Ministers of the PUK-controlled Kurdistan Regional Government: No. Picture Name (Born–Died) Time in office Political group Started Ended How long they served 1 Fuad Masum (born 1938) 4 July 1992 26 April 1993 296 days Patriotic Union of Kurdistan 2 Kosrat Rasul Ali (born 1952) 26 April 1993 21 January 2001 7 years, 270 days Patriotic Union of Kurdistan 3 Barham Salih (born 1960) 21 January 2001 15 July 2004 3 years, 176 days Patriotic Union of Kurdistan 4 Omer Fattah Hussain (born 1948) 15 July 2004 14 June 2005 334 days Patriotic Union of Kurdistan

KDP-Controlled Area Prime Ministers of the KDP-controlled Kurdistan Regional Government: No. Picture Name (Born–Died) Time in office Political group Started Ended How long they served 1 Roj Shaweis (1947–2021) 26 September 1996 20 December 1999 3 years, 85 days Kurdistan Democratic Party 2 Nechirvan Barzani (born 1966) 20 December 1999 14 June 2005 5 years, 176 days Kurdistan Democratic Party

United Government (2006–Present)

After the KDP and PUK settled their differences, a new election was held on January 30, 2005. They agreed that a KDP leader would be Prime Minister first. Then, a PUK leader would become president for the next term.

So, Nechirvan Barzani became Prime Minister. Later, Barham Salih took over the role until January 17, 2012. After that, Nechirvan Barzani became Prime Minister again.

Prime Ministers of the Kurdistan Regional Government:

No.	Picture	Name (Born–Died)	Time in office			Political group
			Started	Ended	How long they served
1		Nechirvan Barzani (born 1966)	1 March 2006	31 August 2009	3 years, 183 days	Kurdistan Democratic Party
2		Barham Salih (born 1960)	1 September 2009	17 January 2012	2 years, 138 days	Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
(1)		Nechirvan Barzani (born 1966)	17 January 2012	10 June 2019	7 years, 144 days	Kurdistan Democratic Party
3		Masrour Barzani (born 1969)	10 June 2019	Incumbent	6 years, 26 days	Kurdistan Democratic Party

Timeline of Prime Ministers

More to Explore

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• Vice President of Kurdistan Region