Hoshyar Zebari

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the Iraqi Foreign Minister. For the Kurdish group, see Zebari Kurds.

Hoshyar Zebari (also spelled Hoshyar Zubari/Zibari, Kurdish: Hişyar Zêbarî) (born 1953) is the current Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iraq. A Kurd originally from Aqrah, a city in Iraqi Kurdistan, Zebari holds a masters degree in sociology from the University of Essex, England and studied political science in Jordan. He was the foreign spokesperson for the Kurdistan Democratic Party in the 1990s and represented the party to both the United Kingdom and the United States.

He was appointed Foreign Minister of Iraq in 2003 by the Iraqi Governing Council and held the post for the Iraqi Interim Government, Iraqi Transitional Government and the first permanent government.

On October 28, 2007 he made headlines after he issued a clear warning of serious consequences to Turkey if they decide to launch a ground assault on Kurdish PKK rebels based in his native Iraqi Kurdistan.

In spite of that very clear warning of really serious consequences, Turkey launched the announced ground assault. Zebari this time issued an even clearer warning of even more serious consequences for the next time Turkey performs such an operation on Iraqi soil.

[edit] References

• BBC News (2003-09-01). Iraq's post-war cabinet. Retrieved on 2006-02-24.
• BBC News (2004-06-01). Interim Iraqi government. Retrieved on 2006-02-24.
• BBC News (2005-05-08). New Iraqi government members. Retrieved on 2006-02-24.
• BBC News (2007-10-28). Iraq warns Turkey over incursion. Retrieved on 2007-10-28.

[edit] External links

• Richard Haass meets Hoshyar Zebari, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), June 8, 2004.
• Iraq's Foreign Minister Confirms Support for New US Strategy

Preceded by Coalition Provisional Authority

Minister of Foreign Affairs September 2003–current

Succeeded by current