ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Former Iraqi President Barham Salih, a prominent Kurdish political figure, has been selected as the next UN High Commissioner for Refugees, a senior aide confirmed to The New Region on Friday.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reportedly selected Salih from a shortlist of candidates to replace incumbent chief Filippo Grandi, whose second term is set to expire on December 31.

No official announcement has been made so far on the matter.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees leads the UN agency that protects and supports refugees, asylum seekers, and stateless people worldwide, playing a key role in conflict zones and major humanitarian crises.

Of the eleven commissioners since the establishment of the posting in 1950, nine have been from European countries, thus making the former president's appointment a globalizing departure from the norm.

Salih has held high-level positions in both the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, long having been a prominent voice for moderation, reform, and inclusive governance. 

He served two terms as prime minister of the Kurdistan Region (2001–2004, 2009–2012), was Iraq’s deputy prime minister (2004-2009), and was minister of planning in the transitional government (2005). 

He later served as Iraq’s president from 2018 to 2022, losing re-election to current President Abdul Latif Rashid.

One of Salih’s significant roles in international affairs came in 2007, when he represented the Iraqi government in launching the International Compact with Iraq, an initiative to build a prosperous, democratic, and federal country with international support.

Earlier, in late 1976, he became a member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s (PUK) Department of Europe, overseeing the party’s foreign relations from London.

The Kurdish politician was arrested twice during Saddam Hussein’s rule for his involvement in Kurdish nationalist movements.

He also founded the American University of Iraq in Sulaimani in 2007, one of the region’s leading universities, aimed at advancing higher education and fostering academic exchange and critical thinking.