The revolution of 1979 in Iran provided a golden opportunity for Dr. Ghassemlou and his party to revive the Kurdish nation’s struggle for liberation after decades of brutal oppression under the Shah’s regime.

Dr. Ghassemlou transformed the KDPI to the needs and demands of that time. He emerged as the leader of the Kurdish people in Iranian Kurdistan after the revolution. Despite unfavourable condition, the KDPI attempted to provide security and other services for the Kurdish people. Furthermore, Kurdistan became a safe haven for the nascent democratic Iranian opposition. Dr. Ghassemlou played a vital r role in forming a democratic and secular Iranian opposition.

The fanatic and fundamentalist Islamic Regime that consolidated its power used military force to reoccupy Kurdistan. That was the start of a bitter military conflict between the Peshmerga-forces of KDPI and the Iranian army that lasted until 1997, when geopolitical conditions no longer were favourable for a continued armed struggle under the leadership of KDPI.

Ever since he co-founded the Democratic Youth Union of Iranian Kurdistan until his death in 1989, Dr. Ghassemlou was a man devoted to the struggle of his people for liberation. In every critical juncture in the history of his people, Dr. Ghassemlou played a crucial role.

Dr. Ghassemlou’s legacy is rich and multifaceted: he was a scholar, a guerrilla leader, and man of ideas. At a time when Marxism-Leninism had intellectual hegemony in most part of the world and especially in the Middle East, Dr. Ghassemlou, as early as 1983, advocated and attempted to introduce social-democratic ideas in Kurdistan. Consequently, even in the realm of ideas, he has had a great impact on many generations of Kurdish intellectuals and on Kurdish political outlook.