Former Iraqi president Barham Salih appointed UN High Commissioner for Refugees

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Barham Salih, former Iraqi President and a senior Kurdish political figure, has been appointed as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), his advisor confirmed on Friday.

Mohammed Hawrami, an advisor to Salih, told Rudaw that "twelve global figures from Europe and the United States competed for this United Nations position. After the candidates were interviewed by a high-level UN committee, we are pleased to announce that Dr. Barham Salih has been awarded the position."

According to Salih’s advisor, a high-level UN committee, chaired by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, interviewed all candidates for the position of UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

The advisor confirmed that the former Iraqi president has been officially appointed to the role. “He will assume his duties in the new year,” the advisor said.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees is one of the UN system’s most senior and influential positions, overseeing global refugee protection and humanitarian operations.

The individual holding this position will be responsible for guiding international efforts to protect the rights and well‑being of more than 120 million forcibly displaced people worldwide, including refugees, internally displaced persons and asylum‑seekers.

In late October, Hoshyar Zebari, senior official of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), announced Salih’s candidacy on the social media platform X.

"Dr. Barham Ahmad Salah is Iraq & Kurdistan’s candidate for the High Commissioner of UNHCR, with our full support," he said, adding that he has all the credentials and qualifications "to represent this all-important humanitarian agency."

Biography

Salih was born on September 12, 1960, in Sulaimani. In his youth, he was arrested twice by the former Iraqi Baath regime.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering and Architecture from Cardiff University, UK, in 1983, and holds a PhD in Statistics and Computer Applications in Engineering from the UK.

Salih joined the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in 1976, initially in Europe, later becoming head of the party’s UK relations. He served as the representative of the first Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) cabinet in 1992 and as head of foreign relations in the United States.

From 2001 to 2004, he was prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (Sulaimani Administration), and again served as prime minister in the sixth KRG cabinet for two years.

After the fall of Saddam Hussein, he became deputy prime minister of the Iraqi Interim Government in 2004, later serving as minister of planning in the Iraqi Transitional Government.

From 2006 to 2009, he was Deputy Prime Minister under the elected Iraqi government led by Nouri al-Maliki.

Salih founded the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani (AUIS), and was elected the eighth President of Iraq on October 2, 2018.