Kurdistan Region after the 1998 cease-fire. Green area controlled by the PUK, Yellow area controlled by the KDP
The unity government soon collapsed and in 1994 a civil war broke out, which lasted until 1998. This resulted in the establishment of two Kurdistan Regional Governments in 1996, a KDP-controlled one in Erbil and a PUK-controlled one in Sulaymaniyah, each with their own President.[3]
PUK-controlled part
President of the PUK-run Kurdistan Regional Government:[4]
After an official reconciliation between the KDP and PUK in October 2002,[5]parliamentary elections were held on 30 January 2005 and on 14 June 2005 the KDP-leader Masoud Barzani was sworn in by the parliament in as new president and Kosrat Rasul Ali as the new Vice President of Kurdistan Region.[6] In 2009 the system was changed to elect the president and on 25 July 2009 presidential election were held resulting in Barzani's re-election.[7] On 29 October 2017, amidst the 2017 Iraqi–Kurdish conflict, Barzani announced his intentions to step down as president, effective 1 November.[8]