Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman appointed KRG representative to Washington

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman has been appointed high representative of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to Washington and will leave her current post as representative in London by the New Year.

Abdul Rahman was a highly visible and articulate figure in London, in particular conducting numerous media interviews urging international support against Islamic State militants in the last few months.

“There will be challenges in my new post and I look forward to tackling them with the assistance of the very able KRG USA Representation staff and the Kurdish community, particularly as this is an important time in Kurdistan's relationship with the United States,” she told Rudaw. 

The post in Washington has been unfilled since 2012 partly because of infighting between the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), both of which are part of the KRG government.

With the US-led coalition against ISIS providing support to the KRG, representation in Washington had become more important than ever.

“It's an honour to be given this task and to be able to serve my people and my country in the United States,” she said.

“I have almost 10 years' experience as the KRG representative to the UK which should help in the transition to Washington DC. However, I'm under no illusion. The United States has a different political system and a different culture from Britain. As is often said, Britain and America are two nations divided by a common language.”

She said it was not yet known who will replace her in London. The previous Washington representative was Qubad Talabani, who was appointed deputy prime minister of the KRG earlier this year. He is the son of Iraqi former President Jalal Talabani.

“Of course, I will miss London. Representing the KRG here has been extremely rewarding. When I started in 2005, it was hard to get people to just listen when we wanted to talk about the evolving democracy in Kurdistan or doing business there,” she said.

“Over time, we've been able to turn that around, with the help of colleagues, the community in Britain and organisations such as the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Kurdistan Region. There's nothing more rewarding than the feeling that you have made a difference and have hopefully made a contribution to the success of your country being appreciated.”

The former Financial Times journalist is the daughter of Sami Abdul Rahman, who was the deputy prime minister of the KRG before he and his son Salah were killed in a suicide bomb attack in Erbil in 2004.

“I'm honoured that Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani has appointed me the KRG representative to the United States. I'd also like to thank Minister Falah Mustafa, the head of the department of foreign relations, who informed me of the decision today.”

Abdul Rahman was born in Baghdad. Her family briefly lived in Iran in the mid-1970s before moving to Britain in 1976. She is a history graduate from London University.