Safeen Dizayee (L) succeeds Falah Mustafa Bakir as the new head of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government KRG’s Department of Foreign Relations, July 21, 2019, Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan. Photo: Bakir’s Twitter/@FalahMustafa
Falah Mustafa Bakir steps down as head of Iraqi Kurdistan’s foreign relations
HEWLÊR-Erbil, Iraq’s Kurdistan region,— Current Chief of Staff to Iraqi Kurdistan Prime Minister and KRG spokesperson Safeen Dizayee officially took office as the new head of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Department of Foreign Relations (DFR) on Sunday, replacing outgoing head Falah Mustafa Bakir.
Head of KRG Department of Foreign Relations Falah Mustafa has stepped down from his position, amid a broader government transition in Iraqi Kurdistan region.
Mustafa tweeted on Sunday that “Serving the people of @Kurdistan Region as Head of @KRG_DFR for the past 13 years has been the greatest honor of my life. I want to thank my family & colleagues @DFR_KRG for their tremendous support.”
“I congratulate my successor & dear friend @SafeenDizayee & wish him all the best,” he added.
Mustafa was first appointed as de-facto foreign minister of the KRG in September 2006 and has served continuously since then.
The KRG is currently undergoing a reorganization of leadership.
Currently, there are roughly 40 consulates or other foreign representative’s offices in the autonomous Kurdish region. The KRG has diplomatic missions in 14 countries across the world, including all five permanent members of the UN Security Council: the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Russia, and France.
Nechirvan Barzani has taken over as President of the Kurdistan Region, replacing his uncle Massoud Barzani who had served in that capacity from 2005 to 2017. Nechirvan previously served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, most recently from 2012 until he became president earlier this year.
Meanwhile Masoud’s son Masrour Barzani has taken over as prime minister from his cousin Nechirvan.
There has also been a general cabinet reshuffle, which has seen many old faces gain new appointments.
Also on Sunday, it was publicly announced that long-time Minister of Natural Resources Ashti Hawrami has been named assistant prime minister for energy affairs, a high-profile advisory and coordinating role.
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