Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, who has been in Germany for medical treatment since December 2012, will return home on Saturday, his party said in a statement.
“President Talabani is coming home on Saturday July 19 after receiving successful health treatment in brotherly Germany,” the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan statement said on Friday. “He is going to resume his duties as President of the Republic of Iraq,” the PUK said.His son Qubad Talabani, who is also Deputy Prime Minister of the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government, confirmed his 80-year-old father’s homecoming.
“President Talabani will return to Iraq on Saturday. I congratulate the people on his improved health and on his return,” he said. Talabani has been Iraq’s head of State since 2005, as part of an unofficial power-sharing deal reserving the post of President for the Kurds.