Nechirvan Barzani, who was elected by the Kurdistan Parliament to the presidency of the Kurdistan Region, took office by swearing in a ceremony where about 200 guests were present.
President of the Kurdistan Parliament Vala Ferit, who addressed to the guests at the oath-taking ceremony that began at 11:00 at the Saad Abdullah conference hall in capital Erbil, invited Nechirvan Barzani to stand for his oath-taking ceremony.
"In the name of Almighty Allah, I swear that I will protect the rights, gains, and interests of the people of the Kurdistan Region and that I will fulfill the authority given to me honestly and sincerely, Nechirvan Barzani said during his inauguration by putting his right hand on the Holy Qur'an.
1,200 representatives and personalities attending the ceremony
20-days intensive works carried out for the ceremony, which was the largest and highest-level protocol in the history of Kurdistan region and Iraq and the inauguration of an oath ceremony for the first elected leader.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, representing Turkey, attended the ceremony while HUDA PAR President İshak Sağlam took part among the participants.
Masoud Barzani, Iraqi President Barham Saleh, Iraqi Parliament President Mohammed al-Halbousi, Iraqi Prime Minister and representatives of foreign countries gave speeches at the ceremony.
Former Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani was the first to congratulate Nechirvan Barzani on his new post as president.
Masoud Barzani called on the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and Iraqi federal government in Baghdad to take steps to resolve outstanding problems especially in the disputed territories like Kirkuk.
Who is Nechirvan Barzani?
Born in Barzan on September 21, 1966, Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani comes from the influential Barzani family in the Kurdistan Region.
He is the grandson of Mustafa Barzani, the founder and famous Kurd leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). His father Idris Barzani was one of the KDP officials. He is also a nephew of Masoud Barzani.
In 1975, together with tens of thousands of Kurds, the Barzani family escaped from the Ba'ath regime and went into exile in Iran. He began studying political science at Tehran University, but Nechirvan Barzani, who had to leave the university due to his father's death, completed his education in the United States.
In 1989, Barzani was elected to the Central Committee of the Kurdistan Democratic Party. In 1996, he became Deputy Prime Minister of Kurdistan. In 1999, he became the Prime Minister of Kurdistan in the 4th cabinet. He was elected as the KDP Vice President at the 13th Congress of the KDP.
From 2006 to 2009, Nechirvan Barzani served as President of the Coalition Government established with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
In 2012, he was elected as the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region for the second time.
In the election on 21 September 2013, the KDP came out of the ballot box as the first party with 38 seats. Nechirvan Barzani became prime minister again.
In the elections of 30 September 2018, the KDP won 45 seats. On December 3, 2018, he was elected by the KDP as the candidate of the President of the Kurdistan Region.
President Nechirvan Barzani is married and has four children (Idris, Jiyavan, Raniye, Maya). (ILKHA)