Kurdish Government and Economy

Kurdish Government and Economy

Although Kurdistan is not its own country and is just a region spanning part of Northern Iraq, they have a vastly different economy and system of government. Their history is very interesting, going from being an underdog in Iraq to a more desirable place to live within the country. The autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan was established in March of 1970, when the Iraqi government signed an Autonomy Accord with the Kurdish community of Iraq. Where the Kurdish Region of Iraq is more peaceful, it has had more time and opportunity to grow more than other parts of the country.

The Kurdish Region of Iraq is composed of three major areas in Northern Iraq: Dohuk, Erbil (the capital) and Suleimaniah [Picture 1]; which borders Iran, Turkey and Syria. While this region is still part of Iraq it has its own government and administers its own affairs. They are in charge of things such as patrolling their own borders and they have their own currency, separate from that of Iraq’s. The Kurdish people of Iraq have more autonomy than the Kurdish people in places such as Turkey or Syria.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) was established in 1992. At first Iraqi Kurdistan could not conclusively decide on a government and were split into two regions; that of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and that of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan [Picture 2], under a ‘unity government’ with no president. The president of the KDP was Massoud Barzani (1996-2005) and the president of the PUK was Jalal Talabani (1992-2005). This form of government rule did not work however, and caused a Civil War from the spring of 1994 to the winter of 1997.

The KRG was elected in a democratic manor and exercises executive power according to Kurdistan’s laws, rather than those of the rest of Iraq. The laws enacted in Kurdistan are made by the Kurdish Parliament, consisting of 111 seats; the main functions of the Kurdistan Parliament are to oversee the making of new laws,...