Muhammad, Aziz

(1933- )

   Born a Sunni Kurd in Sulaymaniya, Aziz Muhammad headed the once powerful Iraqi Communist Party (ICP) from late in 1963 until the early 1990s. By the time he retired, the ICP had been reduced to a very minor role. He first joined the party in 1948 and served a term in prison from 1948 to 1958. He had only an elementary school education and was a tin worker. During the late 1990s, he played an important role as a mediator between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in an attempt to end their internal fighting.