This is the term variously used by the Iraqi government to refer to the political structure it established in northern Iraq in 1974 to allow the Kurds a certain amount of autonomy. Mulla Mustafa Barzani, however, refused to accept what he saw as a betrayal of the March Manifesto (1970) and war resumed, ultimately leading to Barzani's defeat. Since Iraq's defeat in the 1991 war, a Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has been established in northern Iraq. Following the 2003 war, the KRG was institutionalized by the federalism adopted by the constitution that was adopted in October 2005.
Historical Dictionary of the Kurds. Michael M. Gunter.