TALABANI, QUBAD

(1977- )

The second son ofJalal TalabaniandHero Talabani, Qubad Talabani was born in Damascus,Syria, but grew up inGreat Britain, where he originally studied automotive systems engineering at Kingston University in Surrey. In the early 2000s, he moved to Washington, D.C., where he began working underBarham Salihas an official of thePatriotic Union of Kurdistan(PUK).Following the overthrow ofSaddam Husseinin 2003, he moved toIraqfor one year to gain further experience as a PUK official. His excellent English enabled him to be an effective liaison officer between the PUK and the U.S. military. He also played a role in the drafting of theTransitional Administrative Law(TAL), Iraq's interim constitution. In 2004, Qubad Talabani returned to theUnited Statesas the representative of the PUK andKurdistan Regional Government(KRG). With the unification of the two KRG administrations in 2006, he became its first representative to the United States and began to play a very active and effective role. He is married to Sherri Kraham, who is Jewish. He has a very bright future.