Burhan Jaf

Ambassador Burhan Namik Salim Jaf is a retired Kurdish-Iraqi diplomat with decades of service in regional and international diplomacy. Born in Berlout - a small village (12 km away from Kalar) in Iraq, he holds a BA (Honours) in Politics and Sociology from the University of Greenwich in London. Jaf served in senior roles including Head of the Asia, Engineering and Communications departments in Iraq's MoFA (2016 - 2018), Head of Mission of the Kurdistan Region to the European Union in Brussels (1998–2009), Ambassador of the Republic of Iraq to Baghdad (2009), and Ambassador to Athens & Cypres from 2010 - 2016, Permanent Representative of Iraq to the UNEP & UN-Habitat (2018 - 2020) as well as ambassador to Kenya & Eastern Africa. Amb. Jaf retired in 2021. Fluent in English, Dutch, Persian, and Kurdish (his mother tongue).