Kurdistan Regional Government

Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) حكومه تى هه ريمى كوردستان Hikûmetî Herêmî Kurdistan
Government		Parliamentary democracy
-	President	Current: Massoud Barzani
-	Prime Minister	Current: Nechervan Idris Barzani
-	Deputy Prime Minister	Current: Omer Fattah Hussain
Formation of Autonomous Region
-	Signing of Autonomy Accord Agreement	March 11, 1970
-	Autonomy Accord collapses	March, 1974
-	Gained de facto Independence	October, 1991
-	The TAL recognizes the autonomy of the KRG as full sovereignty.	January 30, 2005

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), (Kurdish: حكومه تى هه ريمى كوردستان, Hikûmetî Herêmî Kurdistan, Arabic: حكومة إقليم كردستان العراق‎) is the official ruling body of the predominantly Kurdish region of northern Iraq referred to as Iraqi Kurdistan, South Kurdistan, or sometimes simply, Kurdistan. The KRG consists of a unicameral parliament with 111 seats known as the Kurdistan National Assembly (KNA).

The cabinet is selected by the majority party or list who also select the prime minister of the Kurdistan region. The president of Kurdistan is directly elected by the electorate of the region and is the head of the cabinet and chief of state who delegates executive powers to the cabinet. The prime minister is traditionally the head of the legislature body but also shares executive powers with the president.^[1] The president of Kurdistan is also the commander-in-chief of the Peshmerga Armed Forces.^[2] Parliament creates and passes laws by a majority vote, and the president has the power to veto any bill.

Election process

Since 1992, the governing bodies have been primarily based in Erbil (Kurdish: Hewlêr), officially declared the capital of the region. The KRG parliament, or the Iraqi Kurdistan Parliament (IKP), is elected by popular vote. Voters are given one vote and may choose a single party from the list. The cabinet is selected by the majority party or parties. The majority party or coalition appoints and negotiates terms for the prime minister of the Kurdistan region. The president of the Kurdistan region is directly elected by the citizens of the region.^[2]

Currently, the cabinet is composed of the largest two governing parties, the KDP and the PUK and their allies, which include Iraqi Communist Party and the Socialist Party of Kurdistan.

2005 Elections

The primarily goal of the 2005 elections was to end party-rule in the Iraqi Kurdistan and unify the two major parties - the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) - who fought a civil war in the mid-1990s over territorial disputes and control of the Kurdistan region. Previously, the region was divided up by administrative provinces that were under control of either the KDP or the PUK. In 2004, the two parties created one unified list or coalition called the Democratic Patriotic Alliance of Kurdistan, which included several smaller parties as well. Not surprisingly, the coalition received the majority of votes (an overwhelming 90%) allowing the KDP and PUK to effectively divide key positions in government. The coalition achieved 104 of the 111 seats in parliament.^[3]

In June, the IKP held its first official meeting with Massoud Barzani as the elected president. After six long months, the IKP finally agreed on administration positions. In 2006, the current government was selected with Nechervan Idris Barzani as prime minister.^[3] The parties also negotiated terms for the prime minister. Nechervan Barzani, who is a member of the KDP, was expected to serve two years and would be replaced with a PUK candidate in 2008.

As late as December 2007, the PUK had not yet announced their candidate, and in January 2008, the KRG announced that Nechervan Barzani would remain the prime minister until the next election scheduled for 2010. The exact reasons for this decision were not revealed.

Role in Iraq

Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld meets with Massoud Barzani in Iraqi Kurdistan, on April 12, 2005.

The KRG has assumed the role of a government in a federal region of Iraq. As stipulated by the Iraqi constitution, Iraq will be divided into federal regions that will handle their own domestic affairs while the Baghdad central government will deal with international affairs. The single most controversial issue regarding federalism is oil. The KRG under Nechervan Barzani has signed several oil contracts with foreign states, including companies in the United States and China^[4]. While the KRG asserts that such contracts are legal under Iraqi law and the constitution, many disputes remain.

The main Kurdish parties and peshmerga cooperated with the US-led coalition during the 2003 invasion of Iraq that led to Saddam Hussein's overthrow. Kurdish politicians were represented in the Iraqi governing council. On January 30, 2005 three elections were held in the region: 1) for Transitional National Assembly of Iraq 2) for Iraqi Kurdistan National Assembly and 3) for provincial councils.^[5] The Law of Administration for the State of Iraq for the Transitional Period recognized the autonomy of the Kurdistan Regional Government during the interim between "full sovereignty" and the adoption of a permanent constitution.

The Kurdistan Regional Government currently has constitutionally recognised authority over the provinces of Arbil, Dohuk, and Suleimaniya, as well as de facto authority over parts of Diyala and Ninawa and Kirkuk (at-Ta'mim) provinces.

One particularly difficult issue yet to be resolved is the future boundaries of the region. Many Kurds wish it to be expanded to include the largely Kurdish cities of Mosul and Kirkuk, but this is complicated by the Assyrian, Turkmen and Arab populations of both cities and the opposition of Turkey, which is concerned about the region's potential to break away from Iraq (with possible consequences for its own Kurdish minority). The final boundaries of the autonomous region are set to be decided through a number of referendums which were scheduled to be held before the end of 2007 as stipulated in the Iraqi constitution. However, the preparations needed for such a referendum to take place have not been made by the Iraqi central government, and the promised referenda have been postponed for up to six months. Some Kurdish politicians have accused the government of intentionally delaying preparations. The president of the KRG, Massoud Barzani, has announced his opposition to a delay several times.^[6]

In the wake of the ratification of the Iraqi constitution in October 2005, Iraqi Kurdistan reconstituted itself as a federal region under the new constitutional framework. Kirkuk's status with respect to the federal region should, under that framework, be decided by a simple majority vote in the provinces.

The Kurdistan Regional Government has inaugurated a movement to distinguish itself from the rest of Iraq, entitled "Kurdistan - The Other Iraq", in a bid to attract investors by showing its security and economic progress amidst the Iraqi War.^[7]

The Iraqi Kurdistan region has recently established a sister-state relationship with the US State of Oregon.^[8]

Parliament

Position		Portfolio	Name	Party
	President	General Affairs	Massoud Barzani	Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iraq
	Prime Minister	General Affairs	Nechirvan Barzani	Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iraq
	Minister	Minister for the Interior	Osman Haji Mahmoud
	Minister	Minister of State for the Interior	Abdul Karim Sultan Sinjari	Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iraq
	Minister	Minister for Finance & the Economy	Bayiz Talabani	Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
	Minister	Minister for Justice	Farouq Jamil Sadiq
	Minister	Minister of State for Justice	Azad Izaddin Mala Afandi
	Minister	Minister for Peshmerga Affairs	Zeim Ali	Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iraq
	Minister	Minister of State for Peshmerga Affairs	Jafar Mustafa Ali	Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
	Minister	Minister for Transport	Burhan Saeed Sofi	Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
	Minister	Minister for Education	Abdul Rahman Mohammad	Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
	Minister	Minister for Health	Abdul Rahman Yones	Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
	Minister	Minister for Labour and Social Affairs	Adnan Mohammad Qadir	Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
	Minister	Minister for Religious Affairs	Mohammad Ahmad Saeed Shakaly	Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
	Minister	Minister for Water Resources	Tahsin Qadir Ali
	Minister	Minister for Housing and Reconstruction	Imad Ahmad Sayfour	Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
	Minister	Minister for Planning	Osman Ismail Hassan
	Minister	Minister for Human Rights	Yousif Mohammad Aziz	Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
	Minister	Minister for Higher Education and Scientific Research	Idris Hadi Salih
	Minister	Minister for Agriculture	Abdul-Aziz Tayeb Ahmad
	Minister	Minister for Martyrs and Victims of Anfal	Chnar Sa’ad
	Minister	Minister for Culture	Falakaddin Kakeyi
	Minister	Minister for Electricity	Hoshyar Abdul Rahman Siwaily
	Minister	Minister for Natural Resources	Ashti A. Hawrami
	Minister	Minister for Municipalities	Nazanin Mohammad Waso
	Minister	Minister for Sport and Youth	Taha Barwary
	Minister	Minister for Extra-Regional Affairs	Mohammad Ihsan
	Minister	Minister for Trade	Mohammad Raouf Mohammad
	Minister	Minister for Industry	Widad Khurshid Osman
	Minister	Minister for the Environment	Dara Mohammad Amin	Islamic Group Kurdistan
	Minister	Minister for Tourism	Nimrud Baito
	Minister	Minister for Communication	Haydar Sheikh Ali
Source: Official Website of the Kurdistan Regional Government

References