Nihad Qoja
Nihad Salim Latif Qoja (* 1957 or 1958 in Erbil ), transcribed in German as Nihad Kodscha , is a Kurdish-Iraqi local politician and has been mayor of the city of Erbil since 2004 .
Life
Qoja fled Iraq in 1981 for resisting Saddam Hussein's regime . Before he fled, he worked as a sports teacher, among other things. He came to Germany and spent 23 years in Bonn , among others , where he learned fluent German and worked as a taxi driver and interpreter.
In 2004 Qoja returned to Iraq and was appointed mayor of Erbil in the same year , partly because his father was a highly decorated Peshmerga fighter who was also known to Mustafa Barzani , an important Kurdish politician. Nihad Qoja was involved in Germany for the Kurdish Democratic Party that Barzani founded. His family still lives in Bonn.
literature
- Uta Rasche: The religious fanatics are to blame. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung . March 1, 2015, page 7 (article about Qoja as Mayor of Erbil)
Web links
- Raphael Thelen: As mayor, Bonner is helping to rebuild Iraq. e-politik.de, September 29, 2009
- Jeanette Seiffert: Qoja: "Kurds are also fighting for other democratic states". Deutsche Welle, October 11, 2014 (Interview with Qoja)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Malte Herwig : The better Bagdad , page 2. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin. Issue 05/2012.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Qoja, Nihad |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Qoja, Nihad Latif (full name); Kodscha, Nihad |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Kurdish-Iraqi local politician, Mayor of the city of Erbil |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1957 or 1958 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Erbil |