History And Background

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) was founded in June 1975, some two months after the collapse of the Kurdish rebellion of 1974-1975. Created at a moment of profound crisis for the Kurdish people in Iraq, the organization's aim is to revitalize resistance and to rebuild and redirect Kurdish society along modern and democratic lines.

The PUK has evolved into a principal Kurdish and Iraqi political movement with mass following among the Kurdish people, and internationally recognized as a key player in shaping events and developments in the region.

Jalal Talabani, a former student leader, lawyer, journalist and resistance leader, has been the Secretary General of the PUK since its founding in 1975. From bases inside Iraq, he led Kurdish resistance during the late 1970s and throughout most of the 1980s. Talabani, on behalf of the PUK, and the Kurdistan Front, has led efforts to attain a political democratic settlement to the Kurdish national issue in Iraq.