reaffirms Pakistan’s desire to further strengthen its fraternal relations with the Republic
President Asif Ali Zardari (L) and Iraqi President Nizar Amidi (R). PHOTO: X
President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday congratulated Nizar Amidi on his election as the President of the Republic of Iraq and conveyed his best wishes for success in the new role, Radio Pakistan reported.
In his message, the President expressed confidence that “under President Amidi’s leadership, Iraq will continue its efforts towards stability, progress and national cohesion”.
He reaffirmed Pakistan’s desire to further strengthen its brotherly relations with Iraq and strengthen cooperation in areas of mutual interest. President Zardari also conveyed his good wishes for the continued prosperity and welfare of the Iraqi people.
On Saturday, the Iraqi parliament elected the Kurdish politician as the country’s new president, a largely ceremonial role, following a general election last November.
US President Donald Trump threatened in January to withdraw Washington’s aid to Iraq, a major oil producer, if former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was appointed to form a cabinet.
Who is the new president of Iraq?
For nearly two decades, Nizar Mohammed Saeed Amidi worked behind the scenes inside Iraq’s presidential palace, helping to navigate a constitutional impasse, political crises and the delicate balance between Baghdad and the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq.
On Saturday, the longtime adviser and former environment minister moved from behind the scenes to the top of the Iraqi state and won the confidence of parliament to become Iraq’s new president.
Amidi, the candidate of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, secured 227 votes in the second round of parliamentary voting, defeating rival Muthanna Amin, who received 15 votes.
His rise crowns a political career built less on public rhetoric than on quiet consensus-building.
From presidential palace to presidency
For years, Amidi served as one of Iraq’s main constitutional advisers, working with presidents Jalal Talabani, Fuad Masum and Barham Salih between 2005 and 2022.
Inside Baghdad’s Peace Palace, he earned a reputation as a behind-the-scenes troubleshooter, adept at drafting presidential decrees, handling constitutional crises and building consensus among Iraq’s rival political forces.
The position also gave him rare experience dealing with one of Iraq’s most sensitive issues: the relationship between the federal government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq.
Born on February 6, 1968, in the city of Amedi in Dohuk province, Amidi studied mechanical engineering at the University of Mosul before embarking on a political career that would span Baghdad and the Kurdish region.
His life and career unfolded between Sulaymaniyah and Baghdad, shaping him into what many Iraqi politicians describe as a cross-regional figure.
Fluent in Arabic and Kurdish and a father of four, Amidi is often seen as a political translator able to speak to Iraq’s competing centers of power.
Political heir to Talabani
Amidi began his political career in the office of General Secretary of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan from 1993 to 2003.
He later rose through the party’s ranks, becoming a member of its political bureau and heading its Baghdad office in 2024.
He is widely seen as a political heir to the approach of former President Jalal Talabani, whose emphasis on Iraq’s ethnic and sectarian diversity made him one of the few Kurdish leaders widely accepted across the country’s political spectrum.
That image appears to have helped Amidi at a time when Iraq’s fractured political system is once again searching for compromise.
From environment minister to head of state
In 2022, Amidi joined the government of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani as Minister of Environment.
Although the ministry is often considered secondary, he used the position to elevate environmental issues to the level of national security, particularly water scarcity and climate change.
He represented Iraq at major international forums and emerged as one of the most prominent voices defending Iraq’s water rights.
Amidi takes over the presidency at a moment of institutional uncertainty and regional tensions, with expectations that he will use his experience and wide network of relationships to strengthen the presidency’s traditional role as a guarantor of national unity.
Parliament elected him after two previous sessions were postponed due to disagreements over the post between Iraq’s two main Kurdish parties, the Kurdistan Patriotic Union and the Kurdistan Democratic Party.
Under Iraq’s power-sharing system, the presidency is reserved for a Kurdish politician, while the prime minister is a Shiite Arab and the speaker of parliament a Sunni Arab.
The Iraqi constitution requires the president to order the candidate of the largest parliamentary bloc to form a government within 15 days of the president’s election.
