Iraqi President Jalal Talabani was greeted by thousands of Kurds as he returned from Jordan and vowed to pursue a federal Iraq.
Mr Talabani returned to the northern city of Sulaimaniya after two weeks in a Jordanian hospital where he was recovering from exhaustion.
'I am with you until the final breath in realising the goal of a democratic and federal Iraq,' he told the crowd to a huge cheer.
People in the crowd waved Kurdish flags and others danced to loud music before his arrival in a party atmosphere.
Mr Talabani, a former Kurdish rebel leader in his early 70s, was flown to Jordan for medical tests on 25 February for fatigue and had been recuperating in hospital since.
It was not clear when he would return to work but an official from his party said he was in good health and would spend several days resting in Sulaimaniya before returning to his office in Baghdad.
