The president of the Kurdistan region Massoud Barzani left office today (November 1, 2017), leaving his nephew, Nigervan Barzani, "the reconciliation mission with the central government in Baghdad and with neighboring countries and with rival Kurdish parties after the failure of a referendum on independence," according to Reuters.

"Nechervan Barzani, who is prime minister, is now the main representative of the authority in the Kurdistan region administration in the wake of his uncle’s abdication," Kurdish officials said.

Massoud Barzani, the 71-year-old head of the Kurdistan region, irony since 2005 and flourished in the region in his reign, "when the rest of Iraq is in the midst of civil war."

But he announced his resignation last Sunday, to take effect from Wednesday, the first of November after the repercussions of the referendum on independence held on September 25.

According to Reuters, "his nephew, 51, who has served as prime minister for 2006 except for three years, is seen by Kurdish politics as a less polarizing figure and maintains more cordial relations than his uncle with other Kurdish parties."

She adds that "Nechirvan Barzani also has good relations with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who supported Baghdad in the dispute with the central government with the Kurds since the referendum."

The Kurdistan parliament voted on Sunday in favor of distributing the president’s powers between parliament, the judiciary and the government until the next parliamentary and presidential elections.

Before the referendum, "Mas’udur Masoud Barzani was seen as the expected caliph of his father, but he was hurt by his support for the referendum that strained ties with Baghdad and with the regional powers that opposed him."

The United States praised Massoud Barzani on Monday for stepping down and said she would deal with Nechirvan Barzani and his deputy, Qubad Talabani.
British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson spoke to Nechirvan Barzani on Monday to encourage dialogue with Baghdad. Nejirvan also met with the ambassadors of France and Germany to Iraq on Tuesday.

During his tenure as prime minister, Nechirvan Barzani was a central figure in mediating oil deals for the region that are now threatened after the federal government re-deployed forces in disputed territory on October 16, including the oil-rich city of Kirkuk.

Reuters quoted government officials as saying that "Massoud Barzani, despite his abdication, will not leave public work."

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