Exclusive: former Iraqi president Barham Salih put forward in bid to lead UN refugee agency

NEW YORK — Former Iraqi president Barham Salih is among five figures under consideration to lead the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, with Baghdad formally backing his bid, according to diplomats familiar with the process.

The field also includes candidates from Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, and Turkey, sources said.

Iraq has sent an official memorandum endorsing Salih.

The high commissioner role is one of the organization’s most senior posts. The mandate of Filippo Grandi, who currently serves as head of the UNHCR, ends Dec. 31, 2025.

Past officeholders include António Guterres, who is currently the U.N. secretary-general.

Salih, 64, served as Iraq’s president from 2018 to 2022. A veteran Kurdish politician, he previously held two terms as prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, served as Iraq’s deputy prime minister and as minister of planning. He earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the United Kingdom’s Cardiff University and a PhD in statistics and computer applications in engineering from the University of Liverpool.

He was the founding chair of the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani, and currently serves as a senior fellow at Harvard’s Belfer Center.

UNHCR has not publicly announced a shortlist. The agency’s leadership selection typically involves consultations led by the secretary-general before a formal nomination is sent to the General Assembly.