TALABANI, HERO

Hero Talabani is the daughter of the lateIbrahim Ahmedand the wife ofJalal Talabani, the longtime leader of thePatriotic Union of Kurdistan(PUK) and current president ofIraq. She has played an important political role in her own right and is a former member of the parliament in theKurdistan Regional Government(KRG). She is also the owner of KurdSat TV, the Khak Publishing Group, and chair of the Kurdistan Save the Children. In addition, she is a strong advocate for women's rights and heads numerous women's organizations. She has probably influenced her husband to look favorably upon women's rights. As Iraq's first lady, she spends half her time in Baghdad and the other half in the KRG region. She and her husband have two sons, Bafel Talabani, the head of the PUK intelligence agency, andQubad Talabani, the KRG representative in theUnited States.