Barham Salih, President of Iraq

Barham Ahmed Salih (born 12 September 1960) is an Iraqi Kurdish politician who serves as President of Iraq. He is the former prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraqi Kurdistan and a former deputy prime minister of the Iraqi federal government.

Barham Salih was born in 1960 in the city of Sulaymaniyah in Iraq. He was arrested in 1979 by the Ba’athist regime twice on charges of involvement in the Kurdish national movement by taking some photos of protestors in Sulaimaniya city and spent 43 days in detention in a Special Investigation Commission prison in Kirkuk where he was tortured. Once released, he finished high school and left Iraq for the United Kingdom to flee continuous persecution.

Barham Salih is married to Sarbagh Salih, the head and founding member of the Kurdish Botanical Foundation and a women’s rights activist. The couple have two children.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barham_Salih

Muhammad Fuad Masum, Former President of Iraq (since Jul 24, 2014)

Fuad Masum was born in the city of Koya. His family descends from the village of Khabanen, which is part of Hawraman. He studied at various religious schools in Kurdistan until the age of 18. He studied law and Sharia at Baghdad University. In 1958, Masum traveled to Cairo to complete his higher education at Al-Azhar University. He worked as a professor in Basrah University in 1968. He earned his PhD in Islamic philosophy from Al-Azhar in 1975.

Masum is married and has five daughters: Shereen (b. 1969), Juwan (b. 1970), Zozan (b. 1977), Shilan (b. 1980) and Veian (b. 1983). He had a son, Showan (b. 1973), who died from a childhood illness in 1988.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuad_Masum

Jalal Talabani, Former President of Iraq

1933 – Born in Kelkan, Iraq.

1946 – Formed a Kurdish student association in secret.

1953 – He was allowed to enter law school. He originally wished to be admitted to a medical school but was denied.

1956 – Hid and escaped his arrest for being the founder and Secretary Genereal of the Kurdistan Student Union.

1958 – Returned to law school and became the editor of two publications, Khabat and Kurdistan.

1959 – After graduating, he joined the Iraqi army and served as the commander of a tank unit.

1962 – Liberated the district of Sharbazher from the Iraqi government forces by leading a coordinated offensive.

1991 – Inspired the Kurdish to revolt against Saddam Hussein.

2005 – Elected as the President of Iraq.

2006 – He was elected as the President of Iraq, his second term in the government, on the 22nd of April.