The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) (est. 1975) (Kurdish: Yekîtî Nîştimanî Kurdistan) is a Kurdish political party in Iraqi Kurdistan. The official symbol of Socialist International. ... For other uses, see Green (disambiguation). ... The Kurdish language is the language spoken by Kurds. ... Political Parties redirects here. ... For other uses, see Kurdistan (disambiguation). ...

Mission

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan claims to be working for self-determination, human rights, democracy and peace for the Kurdish people of Iraq. Self-determination is a principle in international law that a people ought to be able to determine their own governmental forms and structure free from outside influence. ... Human rights are rights which some hold to be inalienable and belonging to all humans. ... Languages Kurdish Religions Predominantly Sunni Muslim also some Shia, Yazidism, Yarsan, Judaism, Christianity Related ethnic groups other Iranian peoples (Talysh Baluch Gilak Bakhtiari Persians) The Kurds are an ethnic group who consider themselves to be indigenous to a region often referred to as Kurdistan, an area which includes adjacent parts...

Leadership

The Secretary General is Jalal Talabani, the current president of Iraq. The PUK's policy and decision making body also lies within the Politburo. Jalal Talabani (Kurdish: / Celal Talebanî / Jelal Talebaní Arabic: , ) (born 1933), is an Iraqi politician, who was elected State President of Iraq on April 6, 2005, (sworn in the next day, April 7, and once again on April 22, 2006, by the Iraqi National Assembly). ... Politburo is short for Political Bureau. ...

History

The PUK was a coalition of five separate political entities that united under the leadership of Jalal Talabani also known to Kurds as Mam ("Uncle") Jalal and Nawshirwan Mustafa; the leading factions were Komala Ranjdarani Kurdistan ("The League") and Shorish Geran ("revolution spreaders"). Kurds are one of the Iranian peoples and speak Kurdish, a north-Western Iranian language related to Persian. ... Nawshirwan (Also Noshirwan) Mustafa is a prominent Kurdish politician and academic. ...

The PUK received grassroots support from the urban intellectual classes of Iraqi Kurdistan upon its establishment, this was partly due to 13 of its 15 founding members being PhD holders and academics. Originally, the party was a leftist political movement which has gradually moved towards the centre ground and has now become a social democratic party and an associate member of Socialist International. Anthem Ey Reqîb (English: Hey Guardian) Location of Iraqi Kurdistan (dark green) with respect to Iraq (light green) on a map of the Middle East. ... In politics, left-wing, political left, leftism, or simply the left, are terms which refer (with no particular precision) to the segment of the political spectrum typically associated with any of several strains of socialism, social democracy, or liberalism (especially in the American sense of the word), or with opposition... Social democracy is a political ideology emerging in the late 19th and early 20th centuries from supporters of Marxism who believed that the transition to a socialist society could be achieved through democratic evolutionary rather than revolutionary means. ... The official symbol of Socialist International. ...

In the early 1980s the PUK evolved and broadened its appeal to all sections of Kurdish society especially the rural classes. The regional Kurdish assembly elections showed that the PUK's support lies predominantly in the southern area of Iraqi Kurdistan. Since the first Persian Gulf War, the PUK has jointly administered northern Iraqi Kurdistan with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). However, cooperation with the KDP in administering the area was not always smooth, and occasionally violence flared up between KDP and PUK militias. Effectively the areas was divided into KDP-controlled territory and PUK-controlled territory (centered around Suleymaniya). See also: 2003 invasion of Iraq and Gulf War (disambiguation) C Company, 1st Battalion, The Staffordshire Regiment, 1st UK Armoured Division The Persian Gulf War was a conflict between Iraq and a coalition force of 34 nations led by the United States. ... See also Southern (or Iraqi) Kurdistan The Kurdish Autonomous Region is a political entity established in 1970 following the agreement of an Autonomy Accord between the government of Iraq and leaders of the Iraqi Kurdish community. ... Founded by Mustafa Barzani, the legendary Kurd who fought numerous revolts against Baghdad with success. ...

Recent activities

The PUK joined with the KDP and smaller parties to form the Democratic Patriotic Alliance of Kurdistan as an umbrella group contesting the Iraqi National Assembly election, 2005. This unified Kurdish list gained 25.6% of the vote on the first post-Saddam Iraqi elections on 31 January 2005. Jalal Talabani is now the president of the republic of Iraq. The Democratic Patriotic Alliance of Kurdistan is the name of the electoral coalition first presented as a united Kurdish list in the January 2005 election in Iraq. ... Legislative elections were held in Iraq on January 30, 2005. ... is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

This was followed by the decision in January 2006, to form an alliance with the KDP and run Iraqi Kurdistan under a unified administration. [1] Anthem Ey Reqîb (English: Hey Guardian) Location of Iraqi Kurdistan (dark green) with respect to Iraq (light green) on a map of the Middle East. ...

See also

• kalary kon

External links

• Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Official website.
• BBC Profile
• German-kurdish homepage for politics and culture
• Patriotic Union Of Kurdistan: Structure
• Terrorism Knowledge Database
• Blasts Target Iraq's Kurdish Parties
• Iraq Kurdish Party Office Bombed

v • d • e Parliamentary political parties in Iraq
United Iraqi Alliance	Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council - Islamic Dawa Party - Badr Organization - Sadrist Movement - Islamic Virtue Party - Islamic Dawa Party - Iraq Organisation
Democratic Patriotic Alliance of Kurdistan	Kurdistan Democratic Party - Patriotic Union of Kurdistan - Kurdistan Toilers' Party - Kurdistan Communist Party-Iraq - Chaldean Democratic Party - Islamic Group Kurdistan - Iraqi Turkmen Brotherhood Party
Iraqi Accord Front	General Council for the People of Iraq - Iraqi Islamic Party - Iraqi National Dialogue Council
Iraqi National List	Iraqi Communist Party - Assembly of Independent Democrats - People's Union - Iraqi National Accord - The Iraqis
Others	Iraqi National Dialogue Front - Kurdistan Islamic Union - The Upholders of the Message - Reconciliation and Liberation Bloc - Turkmen Front - Rafidain List (Assyrian Democratic Movement) - Mithal al-Alusi List - Yazidi Movement for Reform and Progress
Portal:Politics - List of political parties - Politics of Iraq