'Sharp and visionary leader'

US envoy hails pick backing Barham Salih for UNHCR chief

BAGHDAD — U.S. Special Envoy to Iraq Mark Savaya has congratulated former Iraqi President Barham Salih after U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres selected him as his choice to lead the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

In a statement posted to his X account, Savaya wrote, “With deep sincerity, I would like to thank United Nations Secretary General Tony Guterres for his decisive support in selecting the sharp and visionary leader and former President of Iraq, Dr. Barham Saleh, to lead UNHCR.”

Salih is an Iraqi Kurdish politician who served as president of Iraq from 2018 to 2022. Before his presidency, he held several senior government roles including prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government and deputy prime minister of the Iraqi federal government.

Savaya praised Salih’s personal background and qualifications for the role, noting, “There is no one more deserving of this responsibility, especially as someone who once experienced life as a refugee himself.”

Salih left Iraq for the United Kingdom in the late 1970s after facing political persecution under Saddam Hussein’s regime.

He described the decision as a source of national pride, adding, “This moment is a historic source of pride for me, for the Iraqi people, and for Iraq as a nation to see one of its finest leaders hold such a distinguished international post.”

Under UNHCR’s statute, the next step is for the secretary-general’s recommendation to be formally transmitted to the U.N. General Assembly, which is expected to act on the appointment before the end of Filippo Grandi’s term on Dec. 31, 2025. Guterres’s decision will be shared with members of the Executive Committee ahead of the Assembly’s vote.

Salih was born in 1960 in Sulaymaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan and holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a doctorate in statistics and computer applications in engineering from universities in the United Kingdom. He is also the founder of the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani.