Yousif Muhammed Sadiq

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]

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]

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

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]