ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region’s high-ranking officials extended condolences on the passing of the late Erbil Governor, Firsat Sofi, who succumbed to death on Wednesday morning after a long battle with COVID-19.

“I have lost a son,” wrote Masoud Barzani, the former president of the Kurdistan Region and the current leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), of which late Sofi was a member.

“Dr. Firsat was an example of competence and integrity, a patriotic and active cadre that could prove himself in a very short time,” Barzani added as he extended his condolences to the people of the Kurdistan Region, Erbil, and his family.

After his health deteriorated, the late governor was hospitalized in Turkey’s Ankara where he received his treatment until he finally succumbed to death on Wednesday. Sofi is survived by four children.

The governor was sworn in as Erbil’s governor on Oct. 17, 2019, in front of the president of the Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani.

“Following assuming of the governorship, Sofi was loyally approaching residents’ issues,” President Nechirvan Barzani said in a statement, adding, “he had many projects in mind to develop Erbil and the areas around.”

Sofi served as Erbil governor for 14 months. During his governorship, he headed the COVID-19 Task Force of the province.

“What made Dr. Firsat a popular and beloved personality were competence, integrity, and loyalty,” President Barzani wrote in his statement.

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani in a separate statement described Sof’s death as a “great loss for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).”

The death of Governor Firsat Sofi “really saddened me and is a great loss for the KRG,” Prime Minister Barzani said in his condolence message.

Soon after the announcement of his death, local and foreign authorities extended their condolences on the governor’s passing, including the UK, the US, Germany, and the Netherlands consulate generals in Erbil.