Barham Salih Explained

Barham Salih
Order:8th
Office:President of Iraq
Primeminister:Haider Al-Abadi
Adil Abdul-Mahdi
Mustafa Al-Kadhimi
Term Start:2 October 2018
Term End:17 October 2022
Predecessor:Fuad Masum
Successor:Abdul Latif Rashid
Office1:Prime Minister of Kurdistan Region
Term Start1:28 October 2009
President1:Masoud Barzani
Predecessor1:Nechirvan Barzani
Successor1:Nechirvan Barzani
Term End1:5 April 2012
Term Start2:21 January 2001
Term End2:15 July 2004
President2:Jalal Talabani
Predecessor2:Kosrat Rasul Ali
Successor2:Omar Fattah Hussein (acting)
Office3:Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq
Alongside3:Salam al-Zaubai,[1] Rafi al-Issawi[2]
Term Start3:20 May 2006[3]
Term End3:20 August 2009[4]
President3:Jalal Talabani
Primeminister3:Nouri al-Maliki
Predecessor3:Rowsch Shaways
Successor3:Rowsch Shaways
Term Start4:28 June 2004
Term End4:3 May 2005
Primeminister4:Iyad Allawi
Predecessor4:Coalition Provisional Authority
Successor4:Rowsch Shaways
Office5:Chair of Board of Trustees at The American University of Iraq, Sulaimani
Term Start5:2007
Term End5:2017
Predecessor5:Position established
Successor5:Jill Derby
Birth Name:Barham Ahmed Salih
Birth Date:12 September 1960
Birth Place:Sulaymaniyah, Iraqi Republic
Nationality:Kurdish
Spouse:Sarbagh Salih
Children:2
Residence:Radwaniyah Palace, Baghdad, Iraq
Alma Mater:Cardiff University
University of Liverpool
Native Name Lang:ku

Barham Salih (Kurdish: بەرھەم ساڵح|Berhem Salih; Arabic: برهم صالح; born 12 September 1960) is an Iraqi Kurdish politician who served as the eighth president of Iraq from 2018 to 2022.[5]

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.

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 Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in late 1976 where he became a member of the PUK department of Europe, and was in charge of PUK foreign relations in London. In addition to the political struggle, he finished his university studies and received a Bachelors degree in Civil Engineering and Construction from the Cardiff University in 1983. He continued to study and obtained a Doctorate degree in Statistics and Computer Applications in Engineering from the University of Liverpool in 1987.

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 Interim Iraqi Government in mid-2004, Minister of Planning in the Transitional Government in 2005, and Deputy Prime Minister in the elected Iraqi Government (Nouri al-Maliki's Cabinet) in charge of the economic portfolio and Head of the Economic Committee. Representing the Iraqi Government, he launched the International Compact with Iraq – an initiative of mutual commitment between Iraq and the international community to help Iraq in meeting its obligations of "building a prosperous, democratic and federal country, in peace with itself and with the region and the world".

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 Kurdistani List in the 2009 Iraqi Kurdistan legislative election. The list won 59 of 111 seats. He succeeded Nechervan Idris Barzani as the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government. His term was marked by turbulence with the rise of an opposition (Movement for Change) to challenge the government while his own party was scrambling to stay together after losing the stronghold city of Sulaymaniyah. He survived the first motion of no confidence in Iraqi Kurdistan following the 2011 Kurdish protests in Iraq. He signed the first major oil contract with ExxonMobil after drafting and amending a new oil law.[9] He relinquished the post of Prime Minister to Nechervan Idris Barzani on 5 April 2012 as part of a political agreement between the ruling KDP–PUK coalition.[10]

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 Coalition for Democracy and Justice, to compete in the forthcoming Iraqi Kurdistan elections. Following the death of PUK leader Jalal Talabani and the Kurdish opposition leader Nawshirwan Mustafa, the alliance was seen to have the potential to change the Kurdish political landscape. He said he hoped to gather all the other opposition parties, including Gorran and Komal, to challenge the governing KDP–PUK alliance.[11]

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. 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 1 March 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 Basra Governor Asaad Al Eidani as Prime Minister following the resignation of Adil Abdul-Mahdi, amid ongoing protests across the country. Salih stated that Al Eidani would not be approved by the demonstrators.[22] [23]

Assassination attempt

On 2 April 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]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: BBC. 20 May 2006. Who's who in Iraq's new cabinet. 23 December 2016. 2 October 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181002215212/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5000750.stm. live.
  2. Book: Katzman, Kenneth . 2009 . Iraq: Post-Saddam Governance and Security . Diane Publishing Co. . 55 . 978-1-4379-1944-8 . 8 November 2020 . 27 May 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210527222728/https://books.google.com/books?id=NtJ163gwKHIC&pg=PA55 . live .
  3. Book: The CIA World Factbook 2010, Book 2010. CIA. 2010. 331. 9781602397279. 8 November 2020. 27 May 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210527222733/https://books.google.com/books?id=pqanFyF6nI0C&pg=PA331. live.
  4. Web site: Dabbagh: Iraqi PM approves resignation of Barham Salih . . 10 April 2009 . 20 August 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171203013844/http://pukmedia.com/english/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12883&Itemid=53 . 3 December 2017 . dead . dmy-all .
  5. News: Iraq elects Kurdish Barham Salih as president. The National. 2 October 2018. 2 October 2018. 7 June 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190607065741/https://www.thenational.ae/world/mena/iraq-elects-kurdish-barham-salih-as-president-1.776522. live.
  6. Web site: Barham Salih: Biography and Profile . 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20091120060742/http://www.barhamsalih.net/pages/16 . 20 November 2009 . dead .
  7. Web site: Dr. Barham Salih, Deputy prime minister, Republic of Iraq . Brookings Institution . 13 September 2006 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071103061419/http://www3.brookings.edu/comm/events/20060913Salih_bio.pdf . 3 November 2007 . dead .
  8. Web site: ar:من هو الرئيس العراقي الجديد . Who is the new Iraqi president? . Al Sumaria TV . ar . https://www.alsumaria.tv/mobile/news/248956/iraq-news . https://web.archive.org/web/20181004010805/https://www.alsumaria.tv/mobile/news/248956/iraq-news . 4 October 2018 . live .
  9. News: Iraqi Kurdistan confirms Exxon oil deal-minister . 13 November 2011 . Reuters . 18 February 2012 . 30 January 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120130205842/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/13/exxon-kurdistan-idUSL5E7MD04G20111113 . live .
  10. News: Nechirvan Barzani to Take Over as Iraq Kurd Premier on March 7 . Bloomberg . Nayla . Razzouk . 5 March 2012 . 5 March 2017 . 20 October 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141020003836/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-05/nechirvan-barzani-to-take-over-as-iraq-kurd-premier-on-march-7.html . live .
  11. News: Kurdish Political Heavyweight Announces Plan To Shake Up Local Voters. Rasheed. Honar Hama. Niqash. 6 January 2018. en. https://web.archive.org/web/20180424183600/http://www.niqash.org/en/articles/politics/5750/Kurdish-Political-Heavyweight-Announces-Plan-To-Shake-Up-Local-Voters.htm. 24 April 2018. dead.
  12. News: Editorial staff . Barham Salih returns to PUK and nominated as candidate for Iraq presidency . 25 March 2024 . Ekurd . 21 November 2018.
  13. News: Editorial staff . ھاوپەیمانیی نیشتمانی پێشوازی‌ له‌هه‌ڵوه‌شاندنه‌وه‌ی‌ "هاوپەیمانی بۆ دیموكراسی‌و دادپەروەری" ده‌كات . 25 March 2024 . Awene . 2 December 2018.
  14. Web site: New Iraq President Barham Saleh names Adel Abdul Mahdi as PM . BBC . 4 October 2018 . 9 September 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190909085137/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-45722528 . live .
  15. Web site: Moderate Saleh wins Iraq presidency . The Australian . 4 October 2018 . 27 May 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210527222745/https://login.newscorpaustralia.com/authorize?client_id=HftEQUnDM7g7u3R0AnMT4wVF5k27TQMU&response_type=token%20id_token&scope=openid%20profile&audience=newscorpaustralia&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theaustralian.com.au%2Fremote%2Fidentity%2Fauth%2Flatest%2Flogin%2Fcallback.html&state=3A_b__HtlGwAC-6mSN6Ym~tXwEcS5vxy&nonce=qAEwKp72gXy-rnZw84q1_ZbhMrPTAnR~&response_mode=web_message&prompt=none&auth0Client=eyJuYW1lIjoiYXV0aDAuanMiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjoiOS4xNi4wIn0%3D . live .
  16. News: World reacts to Turkey's military operation in northeast Syria . Al-Jazeera . 10 October 2019 . 16 October 2019 . 17 September 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200917220921/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/10/world-reacts-turkey-military-operation-northeast-syria-191009181335266.html . live .
  17. Web site: "Yazidi Female Survivors Law" in Iraq is groundbreaking but not enough. 2021-01-13. OpenGlobalRights. en. 14 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210114081237/https://www.openglobalrights.org/yazidi-female-survivors-law-in-iraq-is-groundbreaking-but-not-enough/. live.
  18. Web site: 2019-04-26. Iraq's Reparation Bill for Yazidi Female Survivors: More Progress Needed. 2021-01-13. Middle East Centre. 21 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210121200624/https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/mec/2019/04/26/iraqs-reparation-bill-for-yazidi-female-survivors-more-progress-needed/. live.
  19. Web site: Yazidis Push for Reparation Bill in Iraqi Parliament Voice of America - English. 2021-01-13. www.voanews.com. en. 15 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210115005809/https://www.voanews.com/extremism-watch/yazidis-push-reparation-bill-iraqi-parliament. live.
  20. Web site: Iraq Adopts New Law To Assist Survivors Of The Daesh Genocide. Ochab. Dr. Ewelina U.. 2021-03-04. Forbes. 2021-04-26. 26 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210426150654/https://www.forbes.com/sites/ewelinaochab/2021/03/04/iraq-adopts-new-law-to-assist-survivors-of-the-daesh-genocide/. live.
  21. Web site: www.whitehouse.gov . 2 March 2021 . 20 January 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210120201746/https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-president-salih-iraq-bilateral-meeting-new-york-ny-2/ . live .
  22. Iraqi President Barham Saleh Submits Resignation to Parliament Amid Deadly Protests: Report. Time. en. 2019-12-26. 26 December 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191226190218/https://time.com/5755588/iraq-president-resignation/. live.
  23. News: Iraqi president threatens to quit in defiance of Iran's allies in parliament. 2019-12-26. Reuters. 2019-12-26. en. 30 November 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201130141803/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-iraq-protests-idUKKBN1YU0Q3. live.
  24. Web site: Documentation . Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and . 2006-03-08 . a-4812 (ACC-IRQ-4812) . 2022-05-12 . www.ecoi.net . en.
  25. News: 2002-04-03 . Iraqi Kurdish leader evades assassins . en-GB . 2022-05-12.
  26. Web site: By Rudaw . Twittersphere reacts with anger, hope, humour to Barham Salih news . Rudaw . 6 October 2018 . 6 October 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181006114449/http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/190920185 . live .
  27. Web site: John J. Catherine . Barham Salih holds talks to rejoin PUK before Kurdistan election . Kurdistan24 . en . 6 October 2018 . 6 October 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181006114524/http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/0483306e-e651-4a0a-9385-4e1a034c3c71 . live .
  28. Web site: Corporation . Nalia . CDJ to continue political, civil work after departure of Barham Salih . www.nrttv.com . 6 October 2018 . 6 October 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181006075248/http://www.nrttv.com/En/News.aspx?id=5292&MapID=1 . live .