Masrour Barzani submits final slate of Kurdistan cabinet nominees

2019-07-08 00:00:00 - Source: Iraq News

Masrour Barzani, Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister-designate, 2018. Photo: Masrour’s Twitter

HEWLÊR-Erbil, Iraq’s Kurdistan region,— Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister-designate Masrour Barzani submitted nominations for ministerial positions to the Kurdistan Parliament on Monday.

The list of all candidates has been submitted to the parliament, “except the name of the candidate for the Ministry of Natural Resources, which will be filled later in a near future,” the statement by Barzani’s press office reads.

“We hope all the ministerial candidates will gain the confidence of Parliament” to start serving the people of the Kurdistan Region as soon as possible, the statement added.

The Kurdistan Parliament will convene on Wednesday to approve the nominees of the new KRG cabinet, according to a communiqué issued by Speaker Vala Farid.

The ministerial nominations are as follows:

Masrour Barzani (KDP) – Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)

Qubad Talabani (PUK) – Deputy Prime Minister of the KRG

Farsat Ahmed Abdullah (KDP) – Minister of Justice

Shorsh Ismael Abdullah (Gorran) – Minister of Peshmerga

Rebar Ahmed Khalid (KDP) – Minister of Interior

Awat Janab Nouri Salih (Gorran) – Minister of Finance and Economy

Saman Hussein Mohammed Barzinji (KDP) – Minister of Health

Alan Hama-Saeed Salih Mohammed (KDP) – Minister of Education

Dana Abdulkarim Hama Salih Abdulrahman (Gorran) – Minister of Housing and Reconstruction

Sasan Osman Awni Habib (KDP) – Minister of Municipalities and Tourism

Aram Mohammed Qadir Amin (PUK) – Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research

Dara Rashid Mahmoud (PUK) – Minister of Planning

Kwestan Mohammed Abdullah Marouf (Gorran) – Minister of Labour and Social Affairs

Mohammed Saeed Ali (PUK) – Minister of Culture and Youth

Abdullah Mahmoud San Ahmed (KSDP) – Minister of Martyrs and Anfal

Begard Dilshad Shukrallah (PUK) – Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources

Kamal Muslim Saeed Qarani (Gorran) – Minister of Trade and Industries

Ano Jawhar Abdulmasih Abdoka (Christian minority) – Minister of Transport and Communications

Pishtiwan Sadiq Abdullah (KDP) – Minister of Endowment and Religious Affairs

Kamal Mohammed Salih Khalil (KDP) – Minister of Electricity

Khalid Salam Saeed [Khalid Shwani] (PUK) – Region Minister

Aydin Marouf Salim (Turkmen minority) – Region Minister

Vala Fareed Ibrahim (KDP) – Region Minister

The Minister of Natural Resources has not been named in the nomination list for Barzani’s cabinet. The premier-designate, however, said the position would be filled in the near future.

“The parties participating in the new cabinet changed their candidates up until the last moment,” he added.

The Prime Minister-designate has only three days left to form his cabinet. On June 12, 2019, the President of the autonomous Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani, issued a formal letter asking the prime minister-designate to form the new KRG cabinet gave him 30 days.

In September 2018, Kurdistan Region held its parliamentary election, with parties competing for 111 seats in total. The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) won the election by securing 45 seats and was followed by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) with 21 seats and Gorran (Change) Movement with 12.

Iraq News Now