Iraqi Governing Council

(IGC)

   After the United States overthrew Saddam Hussein in 2003, the IGC became the provisional government of Iraq from 13 July 2003 to 1 June 2004. It was established by and served under the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). The IGC consisted of approximately 25 members representing various Iraqi political, religious, and tribal leaders who were appointed by the CPA. There were five Kurds who served on the IGC: Massoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP); Jalal Talabani, the secretary-general of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK); Salahadin Mohammed Bahaddin, the secretary-general of the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU); Dara Nor al-Din, an independent judge on the Iraqi Court of Appeals; and Mahmud Osman, an independent Kurdish statesman. Both Barzani and Talabani served as one of the 12 monthly rotating presidents of the IGC.

   The IGC was disbanded on 1 June 2004 when sovereignty was transferred to the Iraqi Interim Government, which was replaced in May 2005 by the Iraqi Transitional Government, which was replaced by the first post-Saddam Hussein permanent government in 2006.