Iraq\u2019s new Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has been \u2060sworn in with only a partial cabinet \u2060after lawmakers failed to reach a consensus on key postings, including interior and defence.<\/p>\n
The prime minister and other ministers who secured parliamentary confidence took the constitutional oath of office on Thursday, according to the official Iraqi News Agency (INA), formally assuming their duties.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Council of Representatives votes to grant confidence to the government of Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi and its ministerial programme,\u201d the prime minister\u2019s media office said.<\/p>\n
In Iraq, a government wins a confidence vote when parliament approves half plus one of its ministries.<\/p>\n
Al-Zaidi\u2019s government should include 23 ministers, but its lineup remains incomplete as key political parties continue to negotiate several portfolios.<\/p>\n
Parliament \u2060approved 14 ministers during the session, but failed to reach consensus on several remaining posts, \u2060including the interior and defence portfolios.<\/p>\n
Basim Mohammed was \u200cappointed as the country\u2019s new oil minister while Fuad Hussein was kept on as the foreign minister in the new government, lawmakers told the Reuters news agency.<\/p>\n
Al-Zaidi presented his government programme during the parliament session \u2013 which was not broadcast live \u2013 but has yet to announce it publicly.<\/p>\n
Youngest prime minister<\/p>\n
Al-Zaidi, Iraq\u2019s youngest prime minister at the age of 40, was chosen to form the new government on April 27 after President Nizar Amedi named him prime minister-designate and tasked him with forming a government.<\/p>\n
He will face \u2060major challenges, including disarming Iran-backed militias, tackling entrenched corruption, and balancing ties between Washington \u200cand Tehran.<\/p>\n
The selection of al-Zaidi broke a months-long deadlock in which United States President Donald Trump had intervened, after former two-time Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had emerged as the coalition\u2019s initial candidate.<\/p>\n
Al-Maliki, who is close to Iran, was fiercely opposed by Trump. The US president warned that all support to Iraq would stop if he became prime minister.<\/p>\n
Unlike his predecessors, al-Zaidi has no history in political office or government administration. Born in the capital, Baghdad, to a prominent family originating in the southern province of Dhi Qar, he built his career in the private and academic sectors.<\/p>\n
He holds bachelor\u2019s degrees in law and finance, as well as a master\u2019s degree in banking and finance, and is a member of the Iraqi Bar Association.<\/p>\n
Analysts note that al-Zaidi\u2019s lack of political history is his greatest asset. In a deeply polarised landscape, his \u201cblank slate\u201d makes him a palatable choice domestically and internationally.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Iraq\u2019s new Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has been \u2060sworn in with only a partial cabinet \u2060after lawmakers failed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":116218,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[40019,394,40020,94,8461,1679],"class_list":{"0":"post-116217","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-iraq","8":"tag-the-council-of-representatives","9":"tag-government","10":"tag-government-administration","11":"tag-iraq","12":"tag-iraqi-news-agency","13":"tag-prime-minister"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116582771814268329","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116217"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116217\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}