UNGA elects former Iraqi president as next UN high commissioner for refugees

In a statement, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the election of Salih for a term of five years beginning Jan. 1, 2026.

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- The UN General Assembly (UNGA) on Thursday elected former Iraqi president Barham Ahmed Salih as the next United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, to succeed Filippo Grandi of Italy.

In a statement, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the election of Salih for a term of five years beginning Jan. 1, 2026.

According to the statement, Salih served as Iraqi president from 2018 to 2022 and has a career spanning more than three decades of governmental service in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.

Salih, born in 1960, served twice as prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (2001-2004; 2009-2012) and as deputy prime minister of Iraq (2004-2009). He played a central role in Iraq's post-2003 reconstruction and economic recovery, the statement said.

In addition to his native Kurdish and Arabic, Salih is fluent in English, the statement said. ■