Haji Baba Sheikh () was the

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

of the

Republic of Mahabad The Republic of Mahabad, also referred to as the Republic of Kurdistan (; ), was a short-lived Kurdish self-governing unrecognized state in present-day Iran, from 22 January to 15 December 1946. The Republic of Mahabad, a puppet state of the ...

. After the republic was conquered by the

Imperial Iranian Army The Islamic Republic of Iran Army (), acronymed AJA (), commonly simplified as the Iranian Army, is the conventional military of Iran and part of the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces. It is tasked to protect the territorial integrity of th ...

in 1947, unlike

Qazi Muhammad Qazi Muhammad (, ; 1 May 1893 – 31 March 1947) was an Iranian Kurdish Islamic cleric and political leader who founded the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) and was the first president of the short-lived, Soviet-backed, though in ...

, he was not executed. He was immune because of his religious standing. The journalist and lyric Hemin Mukriyani was his secretary during the republic.

Biography

Haji Baba Sheikh was born in Mahabad in the late 19th century. He was a prominent and well respected tribal and religious leader in Mahabad. Qazi Muhammad appointed Haji Baba Sheikh as Prime Minister of the Republic of Mahabad. While Qazi Muhammad was executed in 1947, Haji Baba Sheikh was allowed to live, likely due to his respected status and lack of a major role in the establishment of the Republic of Mahabad. Haji Baba Sheikh later became a reminder for many Kurdish nationalists on how the Republic of Mahabad sought to integrate the Kurdish religious and tribal leadership into the modern political project.Archie Roosevelt, Jr., "The Kurdish Republic of Mahabad", ''Middle East Journal'', no. 1 (July 1947), pp. 247–269

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hadschi Baba Scheich Republic of Mahabad Iranian Kurdish politicians Prime ministers Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan politicians