Kurdistan's Interior Minister, Karim Zingari, who belongs to the ruling coalition between the Kurdish Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), insisted that international observers saw to it that the process went smoothly.

VOA: standard.2009.07.26

Before joining the Department of Defense, he worked at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs as Senior Program Officer for Asia and the Former Soviet Union (1996-1997), and as Program Officer for Asia (1993-1996).

WHITEHOUSE: President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts