ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on Sunday appointed Rashad Khalaf Hashim as the acting director of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), replacing Ihsan al-Awadi, who has held the post since August 2023.

The directive, seen by The New Region, assigns Hashim “the duties of acting Director of the Prime Minister’s Office” and enters into effect on the same day it was issued, October 25.

Prior to his appointment as the director of Zaidi’s office, Hashim served as the head of the companies’ registration department. He was also the head of Iraq’s the exhibition and commercial services company.

He is set to replace Awadi, who has officially held the post since August 2023, after a vote by the Iraqi parliament. Awadi served as the head of former Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani’s office and retained his title under Zaidi for over five months.

The director of the Prime Minister’s Office is tasked with overseeing the day-to-day administrative affairs of the office, including managing the premier’s schedule, and his incoming and outgoing official correspondence.

Iraqi state media reported later on Sunday that the former PMO director has been assigned to serve as Iraq’s Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Iraq to Prague.

Zaidi was nominated for prime minister by Iraq’s ruling Shiite Coordination Framework in late April, his cabinet was approved in mid-May by the Iraqi parliament, in a session that saw only 14 of 23 ministers appointed. The rest of his cabinet was completed in another vote earlier in October, bar the post of Minister of Migration and Displaced.