VOA's Kurdish Journalist Balen Salih dies at 62 in U.S.

VIRGINIA,— Balên Salih, a prominent Kurdish journalist and longtime presenter for the Kurdish service of Voice of America VOA, died Sunday at age 62 in Virginia, U.S.. Initial reports indicate the cause of death was a heart attack.

Salih was the brother of Barham Salih, Iraq’s former president.

Born in 1961 in Halabja, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Salih came from a family with a background in public service.

His father’s government job took the family across different cities, shaping his early education. He attended primary school in Shaqlawa, later completing his studies in Halabja, Bekas, and Goran schools in Sulaimani.

He went on to study at Salahaddin High School in Sulaimani and Raniya Center in the Kêwe Rash region before earning a degree from the College of Administration at Al-Rasafa in Baghdad.

Salih began writing in the early 1980s, drawing inspiration from the poetry of Mahwi. His career in journalism took off in the 1990s, contributing to various media outlets across Iraqi Kurdistan region.

In 1996, he moved to the United States. By December 1999, he had joined the Kurdish service of Voice of America, where he remained an influential voice in Kurdish media.

His passing comes just weeks after the Trump administration shut down VOA’s Kurdish service in March 2025, a decision that drew criticism from Kurdish communities and press freedom advocates.

(With files from Agencies)