Masrour Barzani: From Peshmerga fighter to Kurdistan Prime Minister

Masrour Barzani, the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, has transitioned from a Peshmerga fighter to a leading political figure. Born in 1969 in Erbil province, he is the eldest son of Masoud Barzani, the first president of the Kurdistan Region.

Barzani joined the Peshmerga at age 16 and participated in battles against the Iraqi army in the late 1980s. After spending time in Iran and the United Kingdom, he moved to the United States, where he earned a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in peace and conflict resolution from American University in Washington, D.C.

Following his return to Kurdistan in 1998, he rose through the ranks of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). He held various security and political roles, including serving as an advisor to the Kurdistan Regional Security Council in 2012. In that capacity, he helped coordinate joint operations with the international coalition against ISIS. He was elected Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region in 2019 and later became the deputy president of the KDP in 2022.