Yousif Muhammed Sadiq

Yousif Muhammed Sadiq (Kurdish: یووسف محەممەد سادق, born 14 July 1978) is an Iraqi Kurdish politician of the Movement for Change (Gorran).

Yousif Muhammed Sadiq
Speaker of the Iraqi Kurdistan Parliament
In office 29 April 2014 – February 2019
Preceded by	Arsalan Baiz
Succeeded by	Vala Fareed
Personal details
Born	(1978-07-14) July 14, 1978 (age 47) Khurmal, Halabja Governorate
Nationality	Kurdish
Political party	Gorran
Alma mater	Al-Nahrain University
Occupation	Academic, Politician
Website	Personal Twitter

Sadiq was born in Khurmal, Halabja Governorate. He was elected as Speaker of the Parliament from April 2014 to February 2019.^[1]

Education

Sadiq holds a Master's degree in International Politics from Nahrain University (2007) and a PhD in Philosophy of Political Science with a thesis titled "Factors Affecting the Political Future of the Kurdistan Region-Iraq".^[2]

Career

Academic career

Sadiq served as Head of the Department of Political Science at the College of Political and Social Sciences, University of Sulaymaniyah from 2008 to 2010.^[2]

Political activities

Before becoming Speaker of Parliament, Sadiq was involved in various political and civil activities:

• Coordinator of the General Public Movement (2007-2009)^[2]
• Participated in civil activities with organizations including KIE, DHRD, NED, and UNDP (2003-2010)^[2]
• Coordinator of an academic and legal committee reviewing the Kurdistan Region draft constitution (2008)^[2]
• Main contributor to opposition proposals for amending the regional constitution and reform packages^[2]
• Coordinator of the Political Research Chamber of the Gorran Movement (from 2010)^[2]
• Representative in the National Assembly of the Gorran Movement^[2]

Speaker of Parliament

On April 29, 2014, Sadiq was elected Speaker of the Kurdistan Parliament, a position he held until February 2019.^[2]

Political positions

Views on Kirkuk

On May 26, 2015, as Speaker of the Parliament, Sadiq met with a delegation from the Turkmen faction in the Kirkuk Provincial Council. During this meeting, he stated: "Kirkuk is a Kurdish city, but it has its own characteristics and consists of various ethnic components besides Kurds. We hope that the people of Kirkuk preserve this diversity of population and components."^[3]

He further explained that while drafting the constitution of Kurdistan, "Kirkuk and other disputed areas are referred to as a main part of the Kurdistan Region, but we take into account the specifics of these areas. We will not impose any decision on Kirkuk because there are other ethnicities and components in these areas besides Kurds. When these areas return to the Kurdistan Region, all rights of these components will be protected by law in the constitution."^[3]

Sadiq also highlighted the role of Peshmerga forces in protecting all components of Kirkuk without discrimination, stating, "If it weren't for the Peshmerga, terrorists would have created a bloodbath in those areas, so all nationalities should take into account this bravery of the Peshmerga."^[3]