BAGHDAD: The Iraqi parliament on Saturday elected Kurdish politician Nizar Amedi as the country’s new president, a largely ceremonial role, following a parliamentary election last November.

Amedi, 58, is a former environment minister and has headed the political office of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in Baghdad since 2024. Iraq is now due to choose a prime minister, a closely-watched and sensitive pick.

US President Donald Trump threatened in January to withdraw Washington’s support for Iraq, a major oil producer, if former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was designated to form a cabinet.

An alliance of Shia political blocs holding a parliamentary majority has nominated Iran-backed Maliki, alarming Washington, which along with Israel waged a six-week war with Iran until a ceasefire was announced on Tuesday.

In Iraq, which has long trodden a tightrope between Iran and the US, its closest allies, the prime minister wields significant power.

Under Iraq’s sectarian power-sharing system, the prime minister must be a Shia, the parliamentary speaker a Sunni Muslim, and the president a Kurd.

Published in Dawn, April 12th, 2026