Former Iraqi President to head Geneva-based UNHCR

Barham Salih has been appointed as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Afp Or Licensors

Former Iraqi President Barham Salih has been appointed as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

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He will head the UNHCR in Geneva, which assists millions of people worldwide who have fled persecution in their home countries. The UN General Assembly in New York confirmed Salih’s appointment after he was nominated by UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

+ Geneva feels ripple effect of aid funding freeze

The 65-year-old Salih succeeds Italian Filippo Grandi, who is stepping down at the end of the year after ten years in office. Salih takes over an organization in deep crisis, while the number of displaced people worldwide has reached record levels due to wars and crises in Ukraine, Afghanistan, Sudan, and many other countries.

The main donor, the United States, has drastically cut its contributions since President Donald Trump took office, as have Germany and other countries. More than a quarter of the staff, around 5,000 employees, have been laid off.

Salih served as President of Iraq from 2018 to 2022. As president, he primarily had representative duties. Previously, he served, among other roles, as prime minister of the autonomous Kurdistan Region. After the fall of the Iraqi Ba’ath regime in 2003, he was deputy prime minister of the transitional government.

+ UNHCR marks 75 years amid funding crisis

With one exception, all 11 of Saleh’s predecessors were from Europe. There are no guidelines specifying which region of the world heads of UN organizations should come from.

In 2024, the German government nominated foreign and development policy expert Niels Annen for the position.

Sweden proposed Jesper Brodin, the former CEO of Ingka, the largest operator of IKEA stores. Candidates also came from Switzerland, Turkey, and Uganda, among other countries.

Translated from German by DeepL/mga

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