After studying law in Baghdad, Talabani worked as a lawyer from 1946 onwards but was imprisoned from 1948 to 1955 and was only able to return to his work as an attorney after the overthrow of the Iraqi monarchy. Under the Iraqi government of Abd al-Karim Qasim, he became head of the state tobacco company in 1959 and later inspector of the Ministry of Agrarian Reform. Originally a supporter of the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP), he later broke with KDP leader Mustafa Barzani in 1963, after helping to overthrow the Qasim regime in 1963. He then joined the Iraqi Communist Party (ICP) and became a member of its Central Committee.