Senior Iraqi and Kurdish leaders gathered to honor his life on the fifth anniversary of President Talabani's eventual departure from life.
Senior Iraqi leaders and international figures gathered in Erbil to honor President Talabani's legacy on the fifth anniversary of his passing.
PUK president Bafel Jalal Talabani, Kurdistan Region Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani attended the event, Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, and Iraq and Kurdistan Region Presidents Barham Salih and Nechirvan Barzani were also present.
The participants mentioned President Talabani's historic achievements for the people of Iraq and the Kurdistan region and his peaceful and harmonious methods that brought Iraqis together and prevented violence.
In a video message displayed at the event, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said, "Mam Jalal made it a priority to bring people together, and he was hugely admired across the international community."
Born in November 1932, President Talabani was a crucial figure in the history of Iraq and the Kurdistan region. he was the first Iraqi leader that worked for democracy as a remedy to the sectarian nature of Iraq without letting the country fall apart and devolve into chaos, long before the US collapsed Saddam Hussein to democratize Iraq.
He engineered forming a pan-nationalist alliance between different Kurdish political parties that eventually led to the creation of the Kurdistan region in the early 2000s. As the first democratically elected president of Iraq in 2006, Talabani brought together the different Iraqi political forces and, at times, avoided flashpoints between these groups. His unity efforts were more visible after he departed from politics in 2012 due to a stroke that embedded him.
President Jalal Talabani's heart stopped beating on October 3, 2017. Millions attended his funeral. The streets of Sulaimani, where he is buried, were emptied, and bazaars and shops closed as people flocked to his tomb.