MASSOUD BARZANI, KDP
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has remained a dominant force in Iraqi Kurdish politics for more than half a century.
Since the death of his father Mullah Mustafa in 1979, Massoud Barzani has led the KDP through decades of conflict with the Iraqi central government and with local rivals, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
The KDP commands tens of thousands of armed militia fighters, known as peshmerga, and controls a large area of north-western Iraq.
Mr Barzani is a member of the Iraqi Governing Council.
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One-Minute World News
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