Barham Salih
Barham Salih | |
---|---|
بەرھەم ساڵح | |
Iyad Allawi | |
Preceded by | Coalition Provisional Authority |
Succeeded by | Rowsch Shaways |
Chair of Board of Trustees at The American University of Iraq, Sulaimani | |
In office 2007–2017 | |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Jill Derby |
Personal details | |
Born | Barham Ahmed Salih 12 September 1960 Coalition for Democracy and Justice (2018) |
Spouse | Sarbagh Salih |
Children | 2 |
Residence(s) | Radwaniyah Palace, Baghdad, Iraq |
Alma mater | Cardiff University University of Liverpool |
Website | www.barhamsalih.net |
Barham Salih (
He is the former prime minister of the Kurdistan Region and a former deputy prime minister of the Iraqi federal government. He was elected and assumed office as president of Iraq on 2 October 2018. Salih is the third non-Arab president of Iraq, succeeding Fuad Masum, also Kurdish. In October 2022 he lost his re-election to Abdul Latif Rashid.
Early life and education
Salih was born in 1960 in Sulaymaniyah. He was arrested in 1979 by the Ba'athist regime twice on charges of involvement in the Kurdish national movement by taking some photos of protesters in Sulaimaniya city and spent 43 days in detention in a Special Investigation Commission prison in Kirkuk where he was tortured.[6] Once released, he finished high school and left Iraq for the United Kingdom to flee continued persecution.[6]
Personal life
Salih is married to Sarbagh Salih, the head and founding member of the Kurdish Botanical Foundation and a women's rights activist.[7] The couple have two children.[8]
Career
Deputy Secretary General of Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
Barham Salih joined the
He was elected a member of the PUK leadership at the first party conference when Iraqi Kurdistan was liberated from the Ba'ath Party following the Persian Gulf War. He was assigned the task of heading the PUK Office in the United States.
After the fall of the Ba'athist regime in 2003, he became Deputy Prime Minister in the
Salih appeared on The Colbert Report on 10 June 2009, broadcast from Baghdad, and was interviewed by the host. He praised the U.S. military for sending troops into Iraq, and acknowledged that many Kurds desire independence.
Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region Government
Barham Salih spearheaded the
Foundation of an own party and subsequent return to PUK
In September 2017, Salih announced that he was leaving the PUK and forming a new opposition party, the
In the 2018 Iraqi parliamentary election, it won two seats.[12] On September 19, 2018, Barham Salih left the party to rejoin the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, which nominated him as a candidate for Iraq's Presidency. Others joined Salih in his return to PUK, but the party leadership made clear that it would not be going to disband itself.[12] On 9 November 2018, the party held a conference, where it renamed itself to National Coalition and elected Aram Qadirî as its leader. There were some legal problems, which were solved at the beginning of December, when the Independent High Electoral Commission moved to legally dissolve the no longer existing CDJ.[13]
President of Iraq
On 2 October 2018, Barham Salih was elected as the eighth president of Iraq.[14] He received 219 votes and defeated Fuad Hussein who secured 22 votes.[15]
Salih condemned the 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria, stating that it "will cause untold humanitarian suffering, empower terrorist groups. The world must unite to avert a catastrophe, promote political resolution to the rights of all Syrians, including Kurds, to peace, dignity and security".[16]
In March 2019, Salih submitted the groundbreaking “Yazidi Female Survivors Law” to Parliament for review.[17] The ground-breaking bill set forth a number of reparation measures for female Yazidi survivors of captivity.[18] It was seen by the Yazidi leaders as an important step toward a secure future for the survivors, and so they could move on and rebuild their homes, which were destroyed by IS fighting.[19] On March 1, 2021, Parliament passed the Yazidi [Female] Survivors Bill into law, and the law was welcomed by Nadia Murad as "an important first step in acknowledging the gender-based trauma of sexual violence and need for tangible redress."[20]
On 24 September 2019, President Salih had his first bilateral meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.[21]
On 26 December 2019, Salih submitted a letter of resignation after refusing to appoint
Assassination attempt
On April 2, 2002, Barham Salih was exposed to an assassination attempt by Ansar al-Islam group,[24] Salih survived the assassination attempt.[25]
Criticism
On 19 September 2018, the announcement that Barham Salih will be the PUK's candidate for the post of Iraqi president was greeted with anger by many on social media while others expressed hope that his international reputation and experience would bring a steady hand to tumultuous Baghdad. Some took to the social media platform to call Salih out for perceived opportunism, noting he had just recently been campaigning against PUK and KDP corruption.[26][27][28]
References
- ISBN 9781602397279. Archivedfrom the original on 27 May 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
- ^ "Dabbagh: Iraqi PM approves resignation of Barham Salih". Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. 10 April 2009. Archived from the original on 3 December 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
- ^ "Who's who in Iraq's new cabinet". BBC. 20 May 2006. Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
- ISBN 978-1-4379-1944-8. Archivedfrom the original on 27 May 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
- ^ "Iraq elects Kurdish Barham Salih as president". The National. 2 October 2018. Archived from the original on 7 June 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
- ^ a b "Barham Salih: Biography and Profile". 2009. Archived from the original on 20 November 2009.
- ^ "Dr. Barham Salih, Deputy prime minister, Republic of Iraq" (PDF). Brookings Institution. 13 September 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 November 2007.
- ^ من هو الرئيس العراقي الجديد [Who is the new Iraqi president?]. Al Sumaria TV (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 4 October 2018.
- ^ "Iraqi Kurdistan confirms Exxon oil deal-minister". Reuters. 13 November 2011. Archived from the original on 30 January 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
- ^ Razzouk, Nayla (5 March 2012). "Nechirvan Barzani to Take Over as Iraq Kurd Premier on March 7". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
- ^ Rasheed, Honar Hama. "Kurdish Political Heavyweight Announces Plan To Shake Up Local Voters". Niqash. Archived from the original on 24 April 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
- ^ a b Editorial staff (21 November 2018). "Barham Salih returns to PUK and nominated as candidate for Iraq presidency". Ekurd. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ Editorial staff (2 December 2018). "ھاوپەیمانیی نیشتمانی پێشوازی لهههڵوهشاندنهوهی "هاوپەیمانی بۆ دیموكراسیو دادپەروەری" دهكات". Awene. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "New Iraq President Barham Saleh names Adel Abdul Mahdi as PM". BBC. Archived from the original on 9 September 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
- ^ "Moderate Saleh wins Iraq presidency". The Australian. Archived from the original on 27 May 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
- ^ "World reacts to Turkey's military operation in northeast Syria". Al-Jazeera. 10 October 2019. Archived from the original on 17 September 2020. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
- ^ ""Yazidi Female Survivors Law" in Iraq is groundbreaking but not enough". OpenGlobalRights. Archived from the original on 14 January 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
- ^ "Iraq's Reparation Bill for Yazidi Female Survivors: More Progress Needed". Middle East Centre. 26 April 2019. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
- ^ "Yazidis Push for Reparation Bill in Iraqi Parliament | Voice of America - English". www.voanews.com. Archived from the original on 15 January 2021. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
- ^ Ochab, Dr. Ewelina U. (4 March 2021). "Iraq Adopts New Law To Assist Survivors Of The Daesh Genocide". Forbes. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
- ^ "www.whitehouse.gov". Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
- ^ "Iraqi President Barham Saleh Submits Resignation to Parliament Amid Deadly Protests: Report". Time. Archived from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
- ^ "Iraqi president threatens to quit in defiance of Iran's allies in parliament". Reuters. 26 December 2019. Archived from the original on 30 November 2020. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
- ^ Documentation, Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and (8 March 2006). "a-4812 (ACC-IRQ-4812)". www.ecoi.net. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
- ^ "Iraqi Kurdish leader evades assassins". 3 April 2002. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
- ^ By Rudaw. "Twittersphere reacts with anger, hope, humour to Barham Salih news". Rudaw. Archived from the original on 6 October 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
- ^ John J. Catherine. "Barham Salih holds talks to rejoin PUK before Kurdistan election". Kurdistan24. Archived from the original on 6 October 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
- ^ Corporation, Nalia. "CDJ to continue political, civil work after departure of Barham Salih". www.nrttv.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2018.