Ali Haydar Kaytan is one of the original members and leaders of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). He was imprisoned for some time in Germany. During the 1990s, he served on the PKK's leadership council (politburo) and was also chosen to serve on the PKK's presidential council to act for Abdullah Ocalan after his capture in 1999. In 1996, Kaytan headed the Kurdistan Peoples Liberation Army (ARGK)'s central military command headquarters that had been moved to northern Iraq.
Historical Dictionary of the Kurds. Michael M. Gunter.