Abdul Latif Rashid | |
|---|---|
عبد اللطيف رشيد لەتيف ڕەشید | |
.jpg) Rashid in 2025 | |
| President of Iraq | |
| Assumed office 17 October 2022 | |
| Prime Minister | Mustafa Al-Kadhimi Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani |
| Preceded by | Barham Salih |
| Minister of Water Resources | |
| In office September 2003 – December 2010 | |
| Prime Minister | Ayad Allawi Ibrahim al-Jaafari Nouri al-Maliki |
| Preceded by | Coalition Provisional Authority |
| Succeeded by | Mohanad Salman al-Sady |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1944-08-10)10 August 1944 (age 81) |
| Citizenship |
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| Political party | Patriotic Union of Kurdistan |
| Spouse | Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmed |
| Children | 3, includingAsoz andSara |
| Relatives | Jalal Talabani (brother-in-law) Ibrahim Ahmed (father-in-law) Hero Ibrahim Ahmed (sister-in-law) |
| Residence | Radwaniyah Palace |
| Alma mater | |
Abdul Latif Jamal Rashid (Arabic:عبد اللطيف جمال رشيد,romanized: ʻAbd al-Laṭīf Rashīd; born 10 August 1944),[1] also known asLetif Reshid (Kurdish:لەتيف ڕەشید,romanized: Letîf Reşîd), is an Iraqi politician serving as thepresident of Iraq. He was previously theMinister of Water Resources under thegovernment ofNouri al-Maliki. Before that, he served in the same position under both theIraqi Transitional Government and theIraqi Interim Government. Rashid was formerly aspokesperson for thePatriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in the United Kingdom. Rashid is the fourth non-Arab president ofIraq, succeedingBarham Salih.
As Minister for Water Resources from September 2003 until December 2010, Rashid was responsible for a range of issues, includingirrigation, municipal and industrial water supply,hydropower, flood control, and environmental requirements, including marsh restoration.
Rashid studied engineering in theUnited Kingdom,[2] and was involved with a number of programmes and organisations related to engineering and agricultural developments. He began his political career in the 1960s, when he joinedtheKurdistan Democratic Party.
He previously worked as a senior Project Manager for theUN's Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.[3] He has been a member of the Executive Council of the Iraqi National Congress (INC)[4], the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan's Representative in the United Kingdom since 1986[4] and a spokesman for the Kurdistan Front.
Rashid is a chartered engineer and a fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineering[3] and theInternational Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID).[4] He has been a freelance consultant for irrigation and drainage projects and has worked with the Water Engineering Administration in Iraq.[3]
In 1992, Rashid was elected vice president and Executive Member of theIraqi National Congress (INC),[4] and in 1998 was elected to the INC's six-member leadership.[4]
He began his political career in the 1960s, when he joined the Kurdistan Democratic Party. Apart from having technical qualifications and engagements, Rashid has actively participated in Kurdish and Iraqi politics. In 1986, he became the spokesman for the PUK in the United Kingdom.[4] He has attended many conferences and official meetings on behalf of Kurdish political parties and Iraqi opposition groups during Saddam's regime. Rashid has also represented Kurdish politics and Iraqi opposition groups to Saddam in official meetings with various international institutions and governments. In 2003, he became the minister of water resources, a post he kept until 2010.[5][6] He served as a presidential adviser from 2010.
Under the Muhasasah power-sharing agreement among the major political parties representing the main ethnic and religious groupings in the country, aKurd is elected as president, aShiaArab as prime minister, and aSunniArab as speaker of parliament. On 13 October 2022, Rashidwas elected as the 9th President of Iraq after the fall of theSaddam Hussein regime. Rashid replacedBarham Salih as head of state after the two-round vote in parliament, winning "more than 162 votes" against 99 for Salih.[7] Rashid "immediately" appointed politicianMohammed Shia' Al Sudani as prime minister-designate. This appointment ended the yearlong deadlock.
In January 2025, President Rashid filed a lawsuit against Prime MinisterMohammed Shia' Al Sudani and Finance MinisterTaif Sami requesting a court order mandating the uninterrupted and timely payment of salaries for Kurdistan Region’s civil servants.[8][9]
Rashid opposes the normalization of diplomatic relations with Turkey as long as it violates Iraq's sovereignty.[10] On 8 April 2023, Rashid condemned Turkey's alleged bombardment of an area nearSulaimaniyah airport inside Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region. A source from theTurkish Defense Ministry stated toAgence France Press that Turkey's armed forces "undertook no such activity."[11]
Speaking on 27 February 2023, Rashid said that the2003 invasion of Saddam-ruled Iraq by the United States and its allies was "necessary" because of the regime's "brutality." He claimed that "after twenty years," now "peace and security [are] all over the country." However, long-awaited public projects, especially in the transport sector, have not materialized, a shortcoming he attributed to lingeringcorruption.[12][13] The Iraqi president expressed the belief that "improving relations with neighbors, including Iran, Syria, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Jordan, is a source of strength for Iraq."[12]
Rashid is from a prominentKurdish family. He is married toShanaz Ibrahim Ahmed, daughter of poetIbrahim Ahmed. They have 2 children.
| Preceded by | Minister of Water Resources September 2003 – December 2010 | Succeeded by Mohanad Salman Al-Sady |
| Preceded by | President of Iraq 2022 – | Succeeded by |
| First Republic of Iraq (1958–1968) |
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| Ba'athist Iraq (1968–2003) |
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| Coalition Provisional Authority (2003–2004) |
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| Republic of Iraq (since 2004) |
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