On Wednesday, senior Kurdish leaders offered their condolences to Senior Advisor to Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani for Foreign Affairs and Climate Change Bayan Sami Abdulrahman following the death of her husband, the journalist, dramatist, and actor Mozaffar Shafeie, who passed away after a battle with cancer.

“It was with great sadness that we received the news of the passing of your esteemed husband, the theater artist Mozaffar Shafeie,” President Masoud Barzani wrote in a condolence message to Abdulrahman.

Prime Minister Barzani also called Abdulrahman to offer his condolences on the passing of her husband. According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, Prime Minister Barzani expressed his deepest sympathies, praying that God grant the deceased eternal peace and bestow patience and comfort upon his family.

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani also spoke by phone with Abdulrahman to offer his condolences, extending his sympathies to her, her relatives, and the entire family.

Originally from Eastern Kurdistan (northwestern Iran), Shafeie was the founder and former director of the Kurdish Cultural Centre in London. He also worked as a news reader and journalist for BBC Persian, acted at the National Theatre in London, and directed several plays in the UK.

“The Kurdish Cultural Centre managed to provide a space for the Kurdish community to openly talk and disagree about the political situation in Kurdistan,” Shafeie said in a speech at the Kurdish Institute in Paris in 2005. 

“The center published newsletters, held cultural and political seminars and showed Kurdish films and plays. But one of its most important achievements was changing the Newroz celebration into a key political and cultural event.”

When Abdulrahman was working as a journalist in Japan, Shafeie created an international theater company of Japanese and Western actors. “We had our own international community with a Kurdish director as its leader.” 

Shafeie appeared in several international film and television productions throughout his acting career. 

His credits included roles as Dr. Benhamadi in Twenty Twelve (2012), Talzani’s Assistant in Shell Shock (2009), Karwan Umed in Wire in the Blood (2008), and General Al Rashid in the miniseries House of Saddam (2008). 

Earlier in his career, he appeared as Milos in The Robinsons (2005), Omar in Son of the Pink Panther (1993), Hassan in an episode of Agatha Christie’s Poirot (1993), a translator in Hostages (1992), and Ali Akbar Mohteshemi in The Tragedy of Flight 103: The Inside Story (1990).

Shafeie was also a voice actor who dubbed Jeremy Clarkson’s voice from Top Gear into Persian, a role that made him famous among Iranians. “It was like Beatlemania,” Shafeie told BBC in 2013. “I even signed some autographs.”

In a condolence message, the Washington Kurdish Institute underlined that “Shafeie will be remembered as a devoted artist, an accomplished theater figure, and a man whose passion for culture and creativity enriched the lives of many. His generosity, warmth, and artistic vision left a lasting impression on friends, colleagues, and all who had the privilege of knowing him.”

“Shafeie’s passion for art and theatre was truly inspiring. He had a remarkable way of seeing the world and sharing its beauty with those around him,” the KRG Representation in the US posted in a condolence message on X. “He will be remembered for his creativity, warmth, and the lasting impact he made on all who had the privilege of knowing him.”