Former Iraq President named U.N. refugee chief

Iraq’s erstwhile President Barham Salih has been chosen arsenic the adjacent High Commissioner for Refugees for the United Nations, a missive showed connected Friday (December 12, 2025), breaking with a contented of appointing leaders from large donor countries.

The letter, signed by U.N. Chief Antonio Guterres and dated December 11, says Mr. Salih has been appointed for a five-year word opening January 1, 2026. He replaces Italy’s Filippo Grandi, a seasoned U.N. official, who has held the presumption since 2016. The assignment is provisional and needs to beryllium approved by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR’s) Executive Committee, the papers showed.

Mr. Salih, a British-educated technologist from Iraq’s Kurdish region, faces large challenges with planetary displacement astatine grounds highs and astir treble the levels it was erstwhile Grandi archetypal began.

In parallel, backing has fallen this twelvemonth arsenic cardinal donors similar the United States person chopped backmost and different Western donors person shifted funds to defence.

About a twelve candidates were competing for the role, including respective politicians arsenic good arsenic an IKEA executive, an ER doc and a TV personality. More than fractional of them were from Europe, successful keeping with a contented of the Geneva-based agency’s main coming from apical donor States