The Peshmerga has held one coveted slot at Britain’s Royal Military Academy Sandhurst since 2020, allocated from Iraq’s defense ministry’s total of six positions. Yet over the past two consecutive years, the Barzani family has monopolized this prestigious opportunity, raising questions about the selection process and its adherence to established protocols.

Context: The UK traditionally allocates specific Sandhurst slots to allied nations’ defense ministries as part of its soft power strategy. Iraq’s defense ministry received six such positions, with one designated for the Peshmerga ministry starting in 2020. The selection process operates through Iraq’s defense authorities, with final UK approval that remains largely ceremonial.

The program’s early years followed proper protocol. In 2020–2021, KDP officer Lieutenant Amir Mahdi Mizuri attended, followed by PUK military doctor Midya Masti in 2021, and PUK officer Lilo Khalid Majeed in 2022. However, 2023 marked a dramatic shift when Areen Masrour Barzani—the KRG Prime Minister’s son with no Peshmerga affiliation – claimed the slot. The following year brought Derin Waji Barzani, son of Masoud Barzani’s youngest brother, cementing the family’s grip on the position.

Analysis: The Barzani family’s discovery of this opportunity traces back to 2021, when Kurdistan President Nechirvan Barzani visited Kurdish and Iraqi officers at Sandhurst during a UK trip. The visit received extensive media coverage, alerting younger Barzanis to both the slot’s existence and Sandhurst’s prestige, particularly appealing to Areen Masrour Barzani, who had just graduated from his father’s American University of Kurdistan in Duhok and harbored ambitions to emulate Gulf royalty, and saw Sandhurst as an ideal opportunity since attending the academy is a favored tradition among Gulf royal families.

Areen’s selection flagrantly violated program requirements, as he had never served in or been affiliated with the Peshmerga ministry. Despite the Peshmerga ministry handling selections and the UK military attaché providing final approval, the process proved vulnerable to political pressure. Areen leveraged his attendance for maximum publicity, commissioning his AVA Media channel to produce a documentary portraying his experience as comparable to Gulf royals or historic British military graduates.

This publicity campaign sparked intense competition among younger Barzanis for future slots. When cousin Derin secured the 2024 position, the family deliberately kept his attendance low-profile, likely to avoid further embarrassing questions about nepotism that might diminish Areen’s carefully crafted narrative about fierce competition for his achievement.

The Peshmerga minister, though officially PUK, reportedly maintains ties as close to the Barzanis as to his own party. A ministry source, speaking anonymously to The National Context, suggested that now that they’ve found this slot, they’ve already filled it for the next ten years, though the Talabanis might demand their share as well.

Like many institutions in the Kurdistan Region, what was once a professional opportunity within the Peshmerga ministry has transformed into a PR tool for the ruling families, with professional development taking a backseat to personal branding.