five children together. Political career Nechirvan Barzani was first elected to the KDP central committee at its tenth Congress in 1989 and re-elected at the 11th Congress in 1993, when he assumed a position in the political bureau. After the 1991 Gulf War, he participated in negotiations with the Iraqi government. In 1996, Nechirvan Barzani was appointed Deputy Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), established following the 1992 regional elections. In 1999, Nechirvan Barzani was appointed as Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government. He actively participated in the 2005 unification process between the main Kurdish Parties on forming a unified KRG. Prime Minister (2006–09) In March 2006, Nechirvan Barzani lead the fifth cabinet, the first unified cabinet of the Kurdistan Regional Government. Many of Barzani's supporters believe that he played an important role in developing the Kurdistan Region. During his first term as Prime Minister, his supporters nicknamed his cabinet as "The Development Cabinet" praising his work in the development of the Kurdistan Region. From September 2009 through January 2012, a Kurdish politician from the ruling KDP-PUK coalition, Barham Salih, assumed office as Prime Minister of the KRG. Prime Minister (2012–19) Nechirvan Barzani was re-elected as Prime Minister in 2012. His political priorities focused on improving the standard of living in the Kurdistan Region, and strengthening peace, security, stability, foreign relations, and foreign investments. He presided consolidation and promotion of rights for women, as well as the ethnic and religious groups in the Region. Under his tenure, the Kurdistan Region underwent a widespread development program in its electricity, water, housing, and road infrastructure. During his tenure, more than thirty countries established their official representation offices in the Kurdistan Region. In 2014, the war against the Islamic State impacted the Kurdistan Region. In addition to defense, the Kurdistan Region also hosted nearly two million displaced people who sought refuge in Kurdistan. Also, with the fall in international oil prices and Iraq's failure to deliver the Region's budget portion, the Region also entered a massive economic crisis. Barzani successfully used diplomatic means to rebuild relations with Baghdad and resume budgetary allotments peacefully. Following the 2017 Kurdistan independence referendum, the Federal Iraqi Government took hostile policies and military actions against the Kurdistan Region. Barzani used his position to again normalize relations with Baghdad and to strengthen ties with the international community with an increased international diplomacy effort. Nechirvan Barzani is