BARZANI, NECHIRVAN IDRIS

(1966- )

   Nechirvan Idris is the son of the late Idris Barzani and thus the nephew of the current president of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) as well as Barzani leader, Massoud Barzani. After his father's premature death, he rose quickly in the hierarchy to be elected to the KDP Central Committee at the party's 10th Congress in 1989 and to the party's political bureau at its 11th Congress in 1993. In the opinion of many, he has become Massoud Barzani's heir apparent. Among various other positions, Nechirvan Idris has headed the KDP intelligence organization and served as the deputy prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Irbil. He became the prime minister of the unified KRG in 2006, in which position he played an important role in developing the region. Following the parliamentary election held on 25 July 2009, he resigned and became one of the two new vice presidents of the KRG.

   Nechirvan Barzani is married and has two children. He is fluent in Kurdish and Persian and also has a working knowledge of Arabic and English. He has traveled widely in the Middle East, Europe, and the United States, where he has met many other world leaders. He is fond of Kurdish and Persian poetry.