Engineer Mihemed Reza Arif Ali, who is known by the name (Mihemed Şêx Rezayê Sergeloyî). He joined the ranks of the Kurdistan Democratic Party in 1960, and in 1961 he established contact with the Peshmerga forces. In 1976, he became a member of the Provisional Leadership of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (Berlin Conference). In 1979, he participated in the Shawan meeting and was elected as a member of the Political Bureau of the Provisional Leadership of the Kurdistan Democratic Party.

 

Biography 

Engineer Mihemed Reza Arif Ali, who is known as Mihemed Şêx Rezayê Sergeloyî, was born in 1944 in the city of Sulaymaniyah. In 1970, he graduated from the College of Agriculture at the University of Baghdad. In 1975, after the collapse of the September Revolution, he migrated to the Imperial State of Iran. In May 1976, he went to the Republic of Austria and remained there as a refugee. In 1981, he was appointed as an agricultural expert at the FAO organization. On Sunday, March 15, 2020, he passed away in the city of Vienna due to illness. On Monday, October 5, 2020, his body arrived in the Kurdistan Region via Erbil International Airport and was later laid to rest in the village of Sergelo, which is part of the Sulaymaniyah Governorate. He was proficient in Arabic, Kurdish, German, and English.

Work History

In 1958, he established contact with the ranks of the Kurdistan Students Union and the Kurdistan Democratic Youth Union. In 1960, he joined the ranks of the Party (KDP). In 1961, he joined the Peshmerga forces. In 1963, he participated in the Dukan - Kotel (Sulaymaniyah) battle. In 1964, he was a member of the Bilese Organization Committee. In 1966, he was appointed as a member of the University of Baghdad Organization Committee, which was under the Baghdad District Committee of the Fifth Branch Committee. In 1968, he became the head of the universities and preparatory schools of the city of Baghdad. In 1969, he became the head of the Baghdad District Committee under the Fifth Branch Committee. In 1970, he became a branch member in the Fifth Branch Committee and later became an administrator of the Fifth Branch Committee. In 1970, he was a representative at the Eighth Congress of the Kurdistan Democratic Party.

 

On Tuesday, April 11, 1972, together with Salih Abdullah Najmaddin (1918 - 1981), who is known as Seyda Salih Yusifi, he welcomed Hamid Buzdaryads, a member of the Presidency Council of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, at the headquarters of the Fifth Branch Committee in the city of Baghdad. On November 27, 1972, as a representative of the Kurdistan Democratic Party in the city of Beirut, he participated in the Congress for the Support of the Palestinian Revolution. From November 27 to 30, 1972, he was the head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party delegation to the National Congress for the Support of the Palestinian Revolution in the city of Beirut. In 1973, he became an administrator of the Fifth Branch Committee. On Monday, June 11, 1973, together with Salih Abdullah Najmaddin (Seyda Salih Yusifi), he welcomed a delegation from the Joint Arab Front for the Palestinian Revolution at the headquarters of the Fifth Branch Committee. In 1974, due to his participation in the Leyla Qasim cell, he was unjustly sentenced to death by the Ba'ath regime of Iraq.

 

In early April 1975, he was tasked by Masoud Barzani with the preparations for the Gulan Revolution. In mid-April 1975, he participated in the broad Urmia meeting for leaders, commanders, and cadres of the Kurdistan Democratic Party with the aim of continuing the struggle and resistance. At the end of April 1975, he was invited by Masoud Barzani along with four other figures, with the aim of continuing defense and resistance, to participate in the first meeting of the Provisional Leadership of the Kurdistan Democratic Party outside the town of Naqadeh in East Kurdistan.

 

At the end of 1975, he was appointed by his colleagues in the Provisional Leadership of the Kurdistan Democratic Party to work in the Sixth Branch Committee in Europe. Also at the end of 1975, due to his political activities and preparations for the Gulan Revolution, he was detained for three months by the SAVAK agency in Evin Prison in the city of Tehran. In March 1976, he was released from Evin Prison and in May 1976, he went to the Republic of Austria and remained there as a refugee. In 1976, he became a member of the Provisional Leadership of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (Berlin Conference). In 1976, he became the head of the Sixth Branch Committee in Europe. On August 7, 1979, in the city of Vienna, he was shot by spies and agents of the Iraqi intelligence and was wounded.

 

In 1979, he joined the ranks of the Peshmerga forces for the second time. In 1979, he participated in the Shawan meeting of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and was elected as a member of the Political Bureau of the Provisional Leadership of the Kurdistan Democratic Party. In 1979, he was a representative at the Ninth Congress of the Kurdistan Democratic Party. In 1992, during the phase of sovereignty, he returned to South Kurdistan. On March 27, 1992, he became a member of the Advisory Board of the Iraqi Opposition Congress (Salahaddin-Masif Congress). In 1994, he became an advisor to President Masoud Barzani. In 2001, in the city of Erbil, he presented a lecture on the Provisional Leadership of the Kurdistan Democratic Party to the students of the twelfth course of the Kurdistan Democratic Party Cadre Institute. On December 15, 2005, he was elected as a member of the National Assembly of Iraq (Iraqi Parliament) on the Kurdistan Alliance list.

Source :

1 - Archive of the Kurdistan Democratic Party Encyclopedia Board.

2 - The funeral of the late Muhammad Reza Arif was held in the village of Sergelo, Khabat Newspaper, organ of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, issue 6.018, Erbil, Wednesday, October 7, 2020, pages 1, 4.

3 - Thank you note, Khabat Newspaper, organ of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, issue 6.018, Erbil, Wednesday, October 7, 2020, page 4.

4 - Ali Sinjari, The Kurdish Issue and the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party in Iraq, third part, (Duhok - Khani Printing House - 2012), p. 255.

5 - Jawhar Namiq Salim, The Kurdish Experience in the Pendulum Movement, third volume, (Erbil - Aras Printing and Publishing House - Aras Printing House - 2011), p. 289, 292, 298.

6 - As'ad Edo, Continuing or Resurrecting the Revolution, Brayati Newspaper, organ of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, issue 1.651, Erbil, Saturday, May 22, 1993, p. 3.

7 - Muhammad Reza, Intellectuals must set a border for Ocalan, Brayati Newspaper, organ of the Kurdistan Democratic Party - Unified, issue 2.752, Erbil, Thursday, January 7, 1999, p. 4.

8 - Ismail Tenya, The Kurdistan Socialist Party: Rise, Fall, Fragmentation, (Erbil - Rojhilat Printing House - 2019), p. 23, 26.

9 - Meeting between the Yugoslav delegation and the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Al-Ta'akhi Newspaper, issue 1007, Baghdad, Times Printing House, Wednesday, April 12, 1972, p. 4.

10 - Brayati at the headquarters of the Fifth Branch of our Party, Brayati Newspaper, organ of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, issue 64, Friday, August 17, 1973, p. 3.

11 - Habib Muhammad Karim, History of the Kurdistan Democratic Party - Iraq (in key stages) 1946 - 1993, (Duhok - Khabat Printing House - 1998), p. 147, 152.

12 - The War on Iraq, Diaries, Documents, Reports 1990 - 2005 (The War against Iraq: Diaries - Documents - Reports 1990 - 2005), (Beirut - Center for Arab Unity Studies - 2007), p. 1.240.

13 - History of the Party's cadres' courses and terms, from the mountains to the city, (Erbil - Party (KDP) Research and Studies Center and Academy - Rojhilat Printing House - 2019), p. 106.

14 - Head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party delegation to the Congress for the Support of the Palestinian Revolution, Al-Ta'akhi Newspaper, issue 1207, Baghdad, Times Printing House, Saturday, December 9, 1972, p. 5, 7.

15 - Zahir Rojbayani, At the end of the 4th month of 1975, our first meeting of the temporary leadership was held, Brayati Newspaper, organ of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, issue 2.338, Erbil, Tuesday, May 27, 1997, p. 5.

16 - Zahir Rojbayani, Muhammad Reza: The immortal Barzani, for our liberation from the terrifying (Evin) prison in Tehran, suggested that the ever-living Kak Idris and Kak Masoud Barzani take our place, Brayati Newspaper, organ of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, issue 2.338, Erbil, Tuesday, May 27, 1997, p. 4.

17 - The visit of the Kurdistan Democratic Party delegation to Beirut, Al-Ta'akhi Newspaper, issue 1.197, Baghdad, Times Printing House, Monday, November 27, 1972, p. 4.

18 - Ali Sinjari, The Kurdish Issue and the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party in Iraq, third part, (Duhok - Khani Printing House - 2012), p. 255.

19 - Ali Kamal Barzi, Famous Kurdish personalities in the twentieth century, first volume, (Erbil - Barzi Project - Zanko Printing House - 1999), p. 263, 265.

20 - Speech of the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Iraq at the Arab People's Congress for the Support of the Palestinian Revolution, Al-Ta'akhi Newspaper, issue 1.206, Baghdad, Times Printing House, Thursday, December 7, 1972, p. 1.

21 - Muhammad Reza Arif, candidate number 6 in Sulaymaniyah province: I will work for the development of the agricultural sector and the attainment of farmers' rights, Khabat Newspaper, organ of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, issue 3.407, Tuesday, February 23, 2010, p. 6.

22 - Muhammad Reza, The March 11 Agreement moved the Kurdish people from one stage to a new and bright stage, Brayati Newspaper, organ of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, issue 3.328, Erbil, Sunday, March 11, 2001, p. 3.

23 - Muhammad Ali Ismail, My Memoirs: Seventy years of age and more than half a century of struggle, (No place - 2019), p. 58.

24 - Masoud Barzani, Barzani and the Kurdish Liberation Movement, third volume, second edition, (Erbil - Ministry of Education Printing House - 2002), p. 407.

25 - The delegation of the Arab Front participating in the Palestinian Revolution met with the delegation of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Al-Ta'akhi Newspaper, issue 1.356, Baghdad, Times Printing House, Tuesday, June 12, 1973, p. 4.

26 - The delegation of the Arab Front participating in the Palestinian Revolution met with a delegation from the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Al-Ta'akhi Newspaper, issue 1.356, Baghdad, Times Printing House, Tuesday, June 12, 1973, p. 4.