Jalal Talabani

Jalal Talabani (12 November 1933 – 3 October 2017) was a leading Kurdish politician. He served as President of Iraq from 2005 to 2014. He was the first non-Arab president of Iraq, although Abdul Karim Qasim was of partial Kurdish heritage.
Talabani was the founder and secretary general of one of the main Kurdish political parties, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). He was a prominent member of the Interim Iraq Governing Council, which was established following the overthrow of the Saddam Hussein regime by the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Talabani has been an advocate for Kurdish rights and democracy in Iraq for more than 50 years.
Apart from his native Kurdish, Talabani is fluent in Arabic, Persian, and English. Talabani is a member of the Socialist International.
Talabani was born on 12 November 1933 in Kelkan, Iraq. He studied at the University of Baghdad. He is married to Hero Ibrahim Ahmed. They have one son, Qubad.
On 18 December 2012 Talabani suffered a stroke and was in intensive care in Baghdad where his condition eventually stabilized after reports that he was in a coma. A statement on the President's official website said that he was being treated for blocked arteries. On 20 December, Talabani's condition has improved enough to allow travel to Germany for treatment.
Talabani died of a cerebral hemorrhage as complications from a stroke at a hospital in Berlin on 3 October 2017 at the age of 83.