Iraqi Parliament Elects New President
The Iraqi parliament elected Kurdish politician Nizar Amedi as the country’s new president, a largely ceremonial post.
The 58-year-old is a former environment minister and has headed the political office of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in Baghdad since 2024.
Iraq must now select a prime minister, a sensitive and closely watched decision. An alliance of Shiite political blocs holding a parliamentary majority has nominated Nouri Maliki, who is backed by Iran, raising concern in Washington.
US President Donald Trump threatened in January that the US would withdraw support from Iraq, a major oil producer, if former prime minister Nouri Maliki were put in charge of forming a government.
In Iraq, which has long balanced between Iran and the US as competing allies, the prime minister holds significant powers. Under the power-sharing system, the prime minister must be a Shiite Muslim, the speaker of parliament a Sunni Muslim and the president a Kurd.