Adel Murad was an Iraqi Kurdish politician whom along with Jalal Talabani, Nawshirwan Mustafa, Kamal Fuad, Ali Askari, Fuad Masum and Abdul Razaq Faily, was the co-founder of the main opposition party, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. He had previously served as representative of PUK in Baghdad under Iraq's Transitional Government and a Representative of Jalal Talabani in Damascus. He was a graduate of the University of Baghdad, with an MSC in Chemistry. Once a commander and Peshmerga veteran, Murad has since been calling for international support and armament from including Russia to support the Peshmerga forces.