SULAIMANI,— Mukarram Talabani, a prominent Iraqi Kurdish politician, writer, and mediator who played a pivotal role in Iraq’s turbulent political landscape for decades, died on Friday at the age of 102 in Sulaimani city, Iraqi Kurdistan region, his family said.
Born in 1923 in Kirkuk’s Berta neighborhood, Mukarram Jamal Sheikh Mohammed—better known as Mukarram Talabani—rose to prominence as both a politician and advocate for Kurdish rights.
His early life was spent in the Zardaw village near southern Kifri, where he began his education before completing high school in Kirkuk.
In 1937, while still a student, Talabani co-founded the “Darkar” Society, which later became the “Hiwa” Party under the leadership of Rafiq Hilmi.
Following the party’s dissolution, he joined the Iraqi Communist Party (ICP) in 1945 and began working as a defense lawyer for party members in military courts. Arrested in 1948, he was sentenced to seven years in prison and later faced three years of house arrest.
After the overthrow of Iraq’s monarchy in 1958, Talabani became the General Manager of the Tobacco Monopoly Administration and later a senior inspector for the Ministry of Agriculture. Following the Ba’athist coup in 1963, he was arrested and imprisoned once more but was released in 1965.
Talabani obtained his first Ph.D. in 1973, focusing on “Improving Agriculture and Social Development in Rural Iraq,” followed by a second advanced degree in 1975 that examined “Land Tenure Dualism in Mesopotamia.”
He served as Minister of Irrigation from 1972 to 1977 and later as Minister of Transportation. During this time, he represented Iraq at various international conferences, including the first World Irrigation Congress in 1976 and other global forums.
Known for his political adaptability, Talabani mediated between Kurdish insurgents and the Iraqi government.
He maintained close ties with Iraqi leaders such as former Iraqi presidents Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr and Saddam Hussein, facilitating negotiations that sought to address Kurdish demands for autonomy. His role as a mediator persisted until the fall of Saddam’s regime in 2003.
Talabani’s life was documented in the 2023 book Mukarram Talabani’s Life Chronicles, which spanned 518 pages and detailed 501 key moments of his personal and political journey.
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