12 Facts About Yonadam Kanna

Yonadam Yousip Kanna is an Assyrian politician and the first Christian member of the Iraqi National Assembly since 2003.

Yonadam Yousip Kanna was born in Al-Anbar, Iraq in 1951.

Yonadam Kanna is one of the founding members of the Assyrian Democratic Movement and participated in the secret movement from its inception in 1979 until the 1991 uprisings in Iraq.

In 1984, Yonadam Kanna was sentenced to death in absentia by the Ba'ath led Iraqi government for participating in a group that opposed the Iraqi regime.

Yonadam Kanna was the former Secretary-General of the ADM after succeeding Ninos Pithyou in 2001 during the third congress of the ADM held in Erbil.

Yonadam Kanna is a former Kurdistan Regional Government minister who was appointed as a Minister of Housing and Public Works in KRG from 1992 to 1999 and later served as Minister of Industry and Energy from 1999 to 2001.

Yonadam Kanna was a founding member of the Iraqi Governing Council that was created following the Invasion of Iraq led by the United States in 2003.

In December 2004, Yonadam Kanna was a member of the National Transitional Council and served as a chairman for Age and Public Services.

Yonadam Kanna was elected to the National Assembly of Iraq as head of the Al Rafideen National List in the January and December 2005 elections.

From 2006 to 2010, Yonadam Kanna was vice-chairman of the 'Economy, Investment and Reconstruction Committee'.

Yonadam Kanna was re-elected for his third term during the Iraqi parliamentary election, 2014 claiming the Baghdad seat as part of the five seats in the Christian quota.

In 2015, Yonadam Kanna pushed for an educational curriculum that prevents the "Daesh mentality" through widespread and in-depth education and cultural programs to address feelings of injustice and exclusion.