Minister Falah Mustafa Bakir leads the Kurdistan Regional Government Department of Foreign Relations. He is the chief architect of KRG foreign policy, and the Department serves as the conduit between the KRG and the international community.

Mr Bakir served as the Head of the Department of Foreign Relations in the fifth Cabinet and was asked to continue in this position in the sixth Cabinet.

Mr Bakir became the Head of the Department, with ministerial rank, in September 2006.

From 2003 to 2006, he served as Senior Adviser and Minister of State for former KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani.

Forging and enhancing relations with international institutions and foreign governments is Mr Bakir’s prime focus. His understanding of and integral role with the international community has led to ongoing responsibilities that include:

• boosting cultural, commercial, political and social links between the Kurdistan Region and foreign governments, institutions, and international organizations; receiving foreign delegations to the Kurdistan Region
  
  
• working with foreign representatives posted in the Kurdistan Region
  
  
• directing the activities of the KRG representative offices overseas
  
  
• liaising with the international and local media

The Department of Foreign Relations is headquartered in Erbil and is the focal point for international activity in the Kurdistan Region, in coordination with Iraq’s federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Previously, Mr Bakir served as KRG Deputy Minister of Agriculture & Irrigation (1999-2003) and Public Relations Officer of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (1996-1999).

In addition, Mr Bakir was the KRG’s liaison officer to the Coalition Provisional Authority. He has also served as liaison officer to the Multi-National Forces Korean Contingent stationed in Erbil.

Mr Bakir completed undergraduate studies in English language and literature at the University of Mosul in 1986. He earned a Masters Degree in development studies in 1995 at the University of Bath in the United Kingdom, and completed the executive programme for senior managers in government at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government in 2001.

Fluent in Kurdish, English and Arabic, Mr Bakir is a well-received lecturer and has been asked to deliver speeches to leading universities and think tanks, particularly in the United States. He presents lectures and has written articles in all three languages, and serves as a primary point of contact in the Kurdistan Region for Western, Kurdish, and Arabic media outlets. He has been a guest lecturer at the University of Salahaddin's College of Education in Erbil and works regularly with English language and literature students.