Hoshyar Zebari to Become Iraq's Deputy PM
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iraq’s Kurdistan Democratic Party is considering to nominate the current Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari as the country’s deputy prime minister.
An informed source speaking to the Tasnim News Agency’s correspondent in Baghdad on condition of anonymity said the party’s central committee is recommending Zebari as the Kurd’s candidate for the position of deputy prime minister.
Hence, Zebari will leave the foreign ministry 10 years after assuming the post of the top Iraqi diplomat following the ouster of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
The source told Tasnim that one of the key ministries in the future government will be given to the Kurds, adding that Barham Salih, deputy secretary general of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), will be the Kurd’s candidate for the job.
As part of a power-sharing agreement in Iraq, the prime minister is a Shiite, the parliament speaker is a Sunni, and the president is a Kurd.
On July 24, the main Kurdish blocs in Iraqi parliament picked veteran politician Fouad Massoum as the country's president.
The Iraqi lawmakers also on July 15 elected Salim al-Jabouri, a well-known moderate Sunni politician, as the country’s new parliament speaker.
On August 11, Massoum appointed the deputy parliament speaker Haider al-Abadi to form the new government.
In a televised address, Massoum gave Abadi 30 days to form the next government and present it to parliament for approval.
Abadi was nominated for the post by the Iraqi National Alliance, a coalition of Shiite parties.
He is scheduled to name his cabinet members by next week.
