Turkish Republican Workers' Party

The Kurdistan Workers Party (Kurdish: پارتى كرێكار كوردستان or Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan), more commonly referred to as the PKK is a Kurdish political party that is the current ruling sole-party of the Democratic Republic of Kurdistan. Founded by Abdullah Öcalan in 1978, the party rose to power after an armed struggle with the Turkish government, eventually taking power after a 1980 after a Soviet backed coup d'état.

The PKK is divided into three separate bodies: the overall ruling commission known as the Central Committee; the main executive body being the Politburo and the main legislative body being the People's Supreme Assembly. Internal party affairs are handled by the Secretariat, which has control over the Central Committee, the Politburo and the Supreme Assembly. The General Secretary heads both the Secretariat, as well as the Central Committee.