Jalal Talabani - Definition

Jalal Talabani (b. 1933) the founder and secretary general of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). Jalal Talabani was also a member of the Interim Iraq Governing Council, created following the United States's 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Born in the village of Kelkan in Southern Kurdistan, Talabani joined the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) at the age of 14, and was elected to its central committee at the age of 18 in 1951. He entered law school in 1953 and graduated in 1959, after which he briefly served in the Iraqi army.

Talabani was a military leader in the 1961 Kurdish rebellion and was part of a group that split from the KDP in 1964; in 1975, following the collapse of the revolt, he helped found the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.

At the time of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Talabani still led the PUK and represented the group internationally. Appointed by the United States as a member of the interim Iraq governing council, he held the presidency of that group during the month of November 2003.