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PUK logo
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK or Yaketi Nishtimani Kurdistan in Kurdish) is an Iraqi Kurdish political party led by Jalal Talabani, based in the Kurdish governate of As Sulaymaniyah, in north eastern Iraq. The party originally appealed to urban intellectuals, but has in recents years found support in all sections of society.
The PUK was founded in 1975 after the other major Kurdish party in Iraq, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KUD); the KUD had suffered a major setback after the Algiers Accord and was briefly disbanded. Originally, it was a leftist political movement which has progressively moved towards the centre and has now become a social democratic party. The PUK is a coalition of five separate factions which united under Jalal Talabani, also known as Mam ("Uncle") Jalal; the leading factions were the Komala ("group") and Shorish Geran ("revolution spreaders"). The PUK received grassroots support from urban intellectual Kurds, while those who supported KDP did so out of tribal affiliation.
The PUK became one of the leading Iraqi anti-Saddam groups. After the first Gulf War, the PUK has jointly administered northern Iraqi Kurdistan with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). Part of this area was protected by the northern Iraq No-Fly Zone, although the provisional capital of the PUK administered zone was Sulaimaniya which did not fall above the 36th parallel and was therefore not protected by the northern no fly zone.
Jalal Talabani was a prominent member of the Iraqi governing council before the council was disbanded. Dr Barham Salih was formerly the Prime Minister of northeastern Iraq; he is currently the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister. The Minister of Irrigation and the Minister of Planning are also members of the PUK.
The PUK has joined with its former archrival, the KDP, and smaller parties to form the Democratic Patriotic Alliance of Kurdistan as an umbrella group contesting the Iraqi National Assembly election, 2005.
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