Dr. Najmaldin Karim (1949-2020)

Dr. Najmaldin Karim, born on August 12, 1949, in the multiethnic oil city of Kirkuk, dedicated his life to medicine, activism, and service to the Kurdish cause. After completing secondary school in Kirkuk, he studied at Mosul Medical College, where he became active in Kurdish student politics and was elected to the leadership of the Kurdish Student Union in 1971. The following year, he joined the Peshmerga, serving as both physician and fighter on the front lines until the collapse of the Kurdish movement in March 1975. Forced into exile, Karim immigrated to the United States in 1976, where he completed a neurosurgery residency at George Washington University and went on to practice and teach in Washington, D.C. He also served as the personal physician to Kurdish leader Mustafa Barzani during his final years, cared for leaders such as Jalal Talabani, and even assisted in the emergency response after the 1981 assassination attempt on President Reagan.

In exile, Karim became a pioneering Kurdish advocate, founding and leading major institutions that would give Kurds a permanent voice in U.S. policy. In June 1990, he became the first Kurd to testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, exposing Saddam Hussein’s Anfal genocide and chemical weapons attacks. The following year, he became the first Kurd officially received by the U.S. State Department. As a founding member and president of the Kurdish National Congress of North America (1991–1999), he helped unify the diaspora, and in 1992 he worked to establish the Voice of America Kurdish Service, which broadcast daily in Kurmanji and Sorani. That same year, he joined the Iraqi National Congress, taking part in conferences that laid the groundwork for post-Saddam democratic opposition. In 1996, he founded the Washington Kurdish Institute, which became a nerve center for Kurdish policy in the U.S., hosting diplomats, training advocates, and shaping awareness on Capitol Hill. Known as a “one-man lobby,” Karim published widely, briefed policymakers, and pressed consistently for Kurdish pluralism, rights, and partnership with the United States.

Returning to Iraq in 2009, Karim was elected to the Iraqi Parliament in 2010 representing Kirkuk. The following year, he became Governor of Kirkuk, where he emphasized governance based on services—improving electricity, water, schools, and hospitals—and professionalizing local administration. Analysts noted an unusual optimism for Iraq due to his reforms. During the war against ISIS (2014–2017), Karim led Kirkuk’s defense, coordinating with the Peshmerga to repel infiltration while maintaining civic order in the province’s multiethnic society. In 2017, he took a principled stand by raising the Kurdistan flag in Kirkuk and ensuring the province participated in the September independence referendum, reflecting his lifelong conviction in Kurdish self-determination.

Dr. Najmaldin Karim passed away on October 30, 2020. In his will, he requested burial in Free Kurdistan until Kirkuk could be secure and liberated, underscoring his devotion to his homeland. His legacy endures through the institutions he built; the Kurdish National Congress of North America, the Washington Kurdish Institute, and the VOA Kurdish Service; as well as through his record of service as governor, physician, and advocate. By bridging Kurdistan and Washington, testifying before Congress, and mentoring a new generation of Kurdish advocates, Karim left behind a model of leadership rooted in dignity, pluralism, and patriotism. From a frontline field clinic to the halls of U.S. power and the governor’s office in Kirkuk, his life embodied a singular theme: unwavering service to the Kurdish people.