After successfully securing the majority of votes from members of the Iraqi Parliament, Abdul Latif Rashid has become the sixth president of the Republic of Iraq. Following a year of delays, procrastination, and disagreements, Iraqi lawmakers elected a president today, Thursday, with a two-thirds majority in the second round. So, who is Abdul Latif Rashid?
His full name is Abdul Latif Jamal Rashid, and he was born in the city of Sulaymaniyah on August 10, 1944. He began his political career in the 1960s when he joined the Kurdistan Democratic Party, becoming an active member and later a leader of the Kurdish Student Association in Europe. He subsequently participated in meetings and discussions aimed at forming the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, which emerged from the first party, and he joined it after its establishment.
He was later appointed as the party's representative in Britain and represented it in various European countries, having played a prominent role since its founding. He attended opposition meetings and conferences that overthrew the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq in 2003 and was an active leader in the Kurdistan Alliance in Europe, being elected as a member of the Executive Council after the formation of the Iraqi National Congress.
Additionally, he was a leading member of the INDICT Council from 1998 to 2003 alongside senior international government officials and had strong friendships with key figures of the Iraqi opposition abroad. After 2003, he served as the Minister of Water Resources until the end of 2010. Following his tenure as a minister, the Iraqi government nominated him for the position of Secretary-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. In December 2010, he was appointed as Senior Advisor to the President of Iraq, a position he held until his election today as president.
It is noteworthy that Rashid competed today against the current Iraqi president, Barham Salih, who was nominated by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. However, he did not receive sufficient votes, especially since the Kurdistan Democratic Party supported Rashid after withdrawing their candidate, Reber Ahmed.
