Qubad Talabani, Kurdistan Regional Government Representative to the U.S.
The Road to a Unified Iraq: Kurds, Sunnis, and Shi’as
Qubad J. Talabani is the Representative of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to the United States and the son of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. As Representative of the KRG, Talabani works closely with the U.S. Government, the media, and research institutions providing critical analysis and up-to-date information on Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. He hopes to mobilize grassroots support for Kurdish interests, including establishing a Kurdish Congressional Caucus, a Kurdish-American Business Council, and a series of Kurdish educational and cultural links with the U.S.
Previously, from 2001 until 2003, Talabani served as the Deputy Representative of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in Washington D.C. Prior to this appointment he was a special assistant to the then PUK representative, Dr. Barham Salih, who is currently Iraq’s minister for planning and international development coordination. Following Operation Iraqi Freedom in the spring of 2003, Talabani served as the Senior Foreign Relations officer for PUK operating mainly out of Baghdad and Sulaimania. He worked closely with the U.S.-led Coalition Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance and was PUK’s top liaison to the Coalition after and to U.S. forces in Iraq. Talabani was also a key negotiator in drafting the Transitional Administrative Law, Iraq’s first post-Saddam constitution.
