Barzani Congratulates Barham Salih on Appointment as UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Peregraf - Masoud Barzani, President of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), congratulated Dr. Barham Salih in a telephone call on his appointment as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). During the call, Barzani expressed his pleasure that a Kurd has attained such a senior position within the United Nations and wished Salih success in carrying out his new responsibilities.

Barham Salih, the former President of Iraq, has been appointed as the new head of UNHCR, one of the most senior and influential posts in the United Nations system after the Secretary-General. More than ten candidates were reportedly considered for the position.

Salih is expected to assume office next year, where he will lead international efforts to protect the rights and welfare of refugees and internally displaced persons at a time of escalating humanitarian challenges worldwide. 

His candidacy had received early backing from senior Iraqi and Kurdish political figures. On October 30, 2025, Hoshyar Zebari, a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party’s Political Bureau, announced on X that “Dr. Barham Ahmed Salih, with our full support, is the candidate of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region for the post of UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).” Zebari added that Salih “possesses all the necessary conditions and capabilities to manage this important humanitarian agency,” which plays a key role in addressing global displacement crises.

Born in Sulaimaniyah in 1960, Salih spent decades within the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and has held several senior positions in both the Kurdistan Region and the federal government of Iraq, though he currently holds no formal party position. He previously served as Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (Sulaimaniyah Administration) from 2001 to 2004, and later as Prime Minister during the KRG’s sixth cabinet.

Following the fall of the former Ba’ath regime, Salih became Deputy Prime Minister of the Iraqi Interim Government in late 2004, later serving as Minister of Planning in the Iraqi Transitional Government. From 2006 to 2009, he held the post of Deputy Prime Minister in the elected Iraqi government led by Nouri al-Maliki.

On October 2, 2018, Salih was elected as the eighth President of Iraq. After completing his term, he ran for a second term but was unsuccessful, with KDP-backed Dr. Latif Rashid securing parliamentary support to assume the presidency.