Erbil governor dies of coronavirus; his 'legacy of service will endure,' PM Barzani says

Local and foreign offices praised the late governor and called his death a great loss for the KRG.
Firsat Sofi (R), the governor of Arbil, gives mask to people to protect themselves against the coronavirus COVID-19, on June 4, 2020 in Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. (Photo by SAFIN HAMED / AFP) (Photo by SAFIN HAMED/AFP via Getty Images)
Erbil province Governor Firsat Sofi (R) gives masks to people to protect themselves against COVID-19, on June 4, 2020, in Erbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. - SAFIN HAMED/AFP via Getty Images
Joe Snell
Joe Snell
@joesnell03

The governor of Iraq's Erbil province died from the coronavirus early Wednesday in Ankara, Turkey, at the age of 42. 

Firsat Sofi was elected in September 2019 in the province's first election of a new governor in 15 years. He represented the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in the regional parliament from 2013 to 2017 and was a member of the 2015 committee that drafted the Kurdistan Region’s constitution. 

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