[7] When he was in his teens, Talabani's peers began referring to him as "Mam" Jalal, as 'mam' meaning "paternal uncle" in Kurdish, and the Kurds have called him by this affectionate name ever since.

[9] After completing his studies at the Baghdad University, he entered the Iraqi Army, where he served shortly as a tank unit commander.

[9] When in September 1961, the Kurdish uprising for the rights of the Kurds in northern Iraq was declared against the Baghdad government of Abd al-Karim Qasim, Talabani took charge of the Kirkuk and Silemani battlefronts and organized and led separatist movements in Mawat, Rezan and the Qaradagh regions.

[11] In March 1962, he led a coordinated offensive that brought about the liberation of the district of Sharbazher from Iraqi government forces.

[12] When not engaged in fighting in the early and mid-1960s, Talabani undertook numerous diplomatic missions, representing the Kurdish leadership at meetings in Europe and the Middle East.

[13] The Kurdish separatist movement collapsed in March 1975, after Iran ended their support in exchange for a border agreement with Iraq.

[20] He was also supportive of peace negotiations between the Kurdistan Workers' Party and Turkey, and was also present as Abdullah Öcalan announced the ceasefire of the PKK on 17 March and prolonged it indefinitely on 16 April 1993.

[20] In close coordination with Masoud Barzani, Talabani and the Kurds played a key role as a partner of the U.S. led Coalition in the invasion of Iraq.

[19] Talabani was a member of the Iraqi Governing Council which negotiated the Transitional Administrative Law (TAL), Iraq's interim constitution.

[16] Talabani was elected President of Iraq on 6 April 2005, by the Iraqi National Assembly and sworn into office the following day.

[5] On 18 December 2012, Talabani suffered a stroke and was in intensive care in Baghdad, where his condition eventually stabilized after reports that he was in a coma.

[5] Jalal Talabani died on 3 October 2017, at the age of 83 in Berlin, Germany of cerebral hemorrhage due to the complications caused by the stroke he suffered five years prior in 2012.