Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) announced today that Fuad Masum, the
head of Kurdish alliance bloc in Iraqi parliament, will be its candidate for
Iraq’s presidency, Rudaw reported today. PUK’s announcement came a day after
its leader and the current Iraqi president Jalal Talabani returned to Iraq
after long absence for medical treatment. PUK traditionally fills the post of
president.
Fuad Masum is a veteran Kurdish politician and senior member of PUK
leadership council and has been member of Iraqi parliament since 2005 and the
Head of Kurdish alliance bloc in Iraqi parliament for the last four
years.
Masum studied at Egypt’s prestigious Al-Azhar University, where he earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Islamic studies. He became a member of the Iraqi Communist Party, which he left early in his career to join the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in 1964. Masum was a representative of the KDP and Mustafa Barzani in Cairo between 1973-75. He helped the reconciliation process with the PUK in the 1980s, when PUK and KDP were at war. In 1992, he became the first prime minister of Kurdistan.
UPDATE: On Monday 7/21, another PUK official, former foreign minister Barham Salih, also registered for the post of presidency. It was not immediately clear if both Salih and Masum were candidates of PUK, or if Salih was running independently.
Masum studied at Egypt’s prestigious Al-Azhar University, where he earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Islamic studies. He became a member of the Iraqi Communist Party, which he left early in his career to join the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in 1964. Masum was a representative of the KDP and Mustafa Barzani in Cairo between 1973-75. He helped the reconciliation process with the PUK in the 1980s, when PUK and KDP were at war. In 1992, he became the first prime minister of Kurdistan.
UPDATE: On Monday 7/21, another PUK official, former foreign minister Barham Salih, also registered for the post of presidency. It was not immediately clear if both Salih and Masum were candidates of PUK, or if Salih was running independently.
File photo: PUK official Fuad Masum (Al Arabiya/ekurd)
Iraq's parliament has chosen the Kurdish politician Fuad Massoum as its new president
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