ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - US Special Envoy for Iraq Mark Savaya said late Friday that "there is no one more deserving" to be the next UN High Commissioner for Refugees than notable Kudish political figure and former Iraqi President Barham Salih, whose appointment to the prestigious international role was unveiled earlier that day.

Savaya thanked UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for selecting the "sharp and visionary leader," whose lengthy resume includes two terms as prime minister of the Kurdistan Region (2001–2004, 2009–2012), service as Iraq’s deputy prime minister (2004-2009), and minister of planning in the transitional government (2005), as well as Iraqi president from 2018 to 2022. 

"There is no one more deserving of this responsibility, especially as someone who once experienced life as a refugee himself," the US diplomat wrote on X.

Salih, who is from Sulaimani, was arrested twice during Saddam Hussein’s rule for his involvement in Kurdish nationalist movements and spent much of the 1970s serving as a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) representative in Europe.

"This moment is a historic source of pride for me, for the Iraqi people, and for Iraq as a nation to see one of its finest leaders hold such a distinguished international post," Savaya concluded. "May your leadership bring hope and dignity to millions."

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.

The Geneva-based body operates in 136 countries across the globe and provides "life-saving assistance, including shelter, food, water, and medical care for people forced to flee conflict and persecution," according to the UN.

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.

Set to take up the mantle on January 1, 2026, following the departure of incumbent chief Filippo Grandi, Salih will face an organization in a state of flux, having had to cut roughly 5,000 jobs this year amid a global diminishment in aid funding, most saliently by its top donor, the US.

The UN body has seen funding slashed by 35 percent in 2025, "leaving millions without access to safety, food, shelter and vital protection services, let alone the means to restart independently," according to agency spokesperson Ewan Watson.