Arshad al-Salihi | |
|---|---|
أرشد الصالحي | |
| President of theIraqi Turkmen Front | |
| In office May 2011 – 28 March 2021 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1959 (age 65–66) |
| Political party | Iraqi Turkmen Front |
| Alma mater | University of Baghdad |
| Occupation |
|
Arshad al-Salihi (Arabic:أرشد الصالحي,Turkish:Erşat Salihi) is anIraqi Turkmen politician who has been leader of theIraqi Turkmen Front since May 2011,[1][2] and a member of theIraqi parliament since 2010.[3]
Salihi was born in the Musalla district ofKirkuk in 1959. He completed primary and secondary education in Kirkuk, later entering the Faculty of Science at theUniversity of Baghdad in 1978.
After secondary school, Salihi began participating in pro-Turkmen political activities, resulting in his arrest by theBa'athist government in 1979.[4] He spent nine years inAbu Ghraib Prison as a political prisoner. His older brother was executed by the government and his family was expelled to the southern parts of Iraq.
After the fall of Saddam in 2003, he became the representative of the Iraqi Turkmen Front in his native Musalla. After 2004, he served as representative of the party inSyria for 4 years. In 2008 at the Iraqi Turkmen Congress, he was elected as the party's head in Kirkuk. He was elected to the Iraqi Parliament from Kirkuk in the2010 parliamentary elections.
In 2011, Salihi's home was damaged by a mortar attack, and in 2013 he survived an assassination attempt.[5][6]
In May 2011, he succeededSadettin Ergeç and became the leader of the Iraqi Turkmen Front. In 2014 he became the deputy chairman of the party.[7]
In 2014, Salihi was elected as chairman of theIraqi ParliamentaryHuman Rights Committee.[8]