Franso Toma Hariri, an Assyrian

Assyrian people

The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...

 politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

, was a high ranking and long-standing Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iraq member and head of the KDP block of Iraqi Kurdistan National Assembly.

Franso Hariri was born in the city of Harir

Harir

Harir is an Assyrian village and a sub-district located in the district of Shaqlawa, Iraq. Today, many homes are being built for Assyrians, by Sarkis Aghajan Mamendo, who are willing to move back to the villages. Both the village and the sub-district of Harir were established by displaced Assyrian...

 (70 km from Arbil

Arbil

Arbil / Hewlêr is the fourth largest city in Iraq after Baghdad, Basra and Mosul...

) in 1937, and graduated from Arbil

Arbil

Arbil / Hewlêr is the fourth largest city in Iraq after Baghdad, Basra and Mosul...

 teaching institution in 1960. He worked inside KDP

KDP

KDP may refer to:*Kurdistan Democratic Party of South Kurdistan*Kurdistan Democratic Party of East Kurdistan*Korea Democratic Party*Khmer Democratic Party*Communist Party of Germany *Kappa Delta Pi...

 in the early sixties. He was very near to the late Kurdish

Kurdish people

The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...

 leader Mustafa Barzani

Mustafa Barzani

Mustafa Barzani also known as Mullah Mustafa was a Kurdish nationalist leader, and the most prominent political figure in the modern Kurdish politics. In 1946 he was chosen as the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party to lead the Kurdish revolution against Iraqi regimes...

. He rose important positions in the KDP during the Kurdish Revolution. He was elected as a member of the KDP central committee in 1979 and took over many party and governmental positions like the head of the KDP delegation in the Kurdistan regional parliament, the governor

Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

 of Arbil and a minister in the third Kurdistan Regional Government

Kurdistan Regional Government

The Kurdistan Regional Government , , is the official ruling body of the predominantly Kurds-populated Kurdistan Region in Northern Iraq...

 in Arbil.

He participated in or actively supported every project for the beautification and modernization of the city of Arbil

Arbil

Arbil / Hewlêr is the fourth largest city in Iraq after Baghdad, Basra and Mosul...

. He was also well known as a strong supporter of education, health and sport projects in the city.

Franso Hariri was assassinated on his way to work on February 18, 2001 by four Kurdish Ansar al-Islam

Ansar al-Islam

Ansar al-Islam is a Sunni Islamist group of Iraqis, promoting a radical interpretation of Islam, close to the official Saudi ideology of Wahhabism with strict application of Sharia. The group was formed in the northern provinces of Iraq near the Iranian border, and previously had established...

 members. It is worth mentioning that two more attempts had been made on his life in Arbil on 1994 and 1997 at the same place and the same street but he escaped from both.

In honor of Hariri, the Kurdistan Regional Government declared three days of mourning and renamed the Arbil football stadium

Franso Hariri Stadium

Franso Hariri Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Arbil, Iraq. It is currently used mostly for football matches and also has facilities for athletics. The stadium holds 28,000, making it the second largest in Iraq after the Al Shaab Stadium in Baghdad. The stadium was built on an old airfield in...

 the Franso Hariri Stadium.

Today, his son Fawzi Hariri

Fawzi Hariri

Fawzi Franso Toma Hariri is Iraq's Minister of Industry and Minerals. He was sworn in on May 20, 2006. Despite inaccurately being labeled as Kurdish throughout different media reports, Hariri is of Assyrian origin and son of the politician Franso Hariri . Fawzi Hariri lived for 16 years in London...

 is Iraq's Minister of Industry.

See also

• Franso Hariri Stadium
  Franso Hariri Stadium
  Franso Hariri Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Arbil, Iraq. It is currently used mostly for football matches and also has facilities for athletics. The stadium holds 28,000, making it the second largest in Iraq after the Al Shaab Stadium in Baghdad. The stadium was built on an old airfield in...
  
  
• List of Assyrians
• List of Nochiyayeh
• Nochiya Tribe
  Nochiya Tribe
  The Nochiya Tribe , are an Assyrian Christian tribe that were based in and around the district of Şemdinli, in the province of Hakkari, Turkey. The word "Nochiya" means "between the mountains" in the Kurdish language...