Its Xavier Blog

    New elected Abdul Latif Rashid and Mohammed Shia Al Sudani — his nomination for prime minister, tasked with forming the next government — are unlikely to fulfil public expectations of reform, according to experts. Parliament elected Mr Rashid, a veteran Kurdish politician and former minister, as president on Thursday, after a year of political deadlock. Mr Rashid then nominated Mr Al Sudani as prime minister. Politicians affiliated with Shiite cleric and politician Moqtada Al Sadr had emerged as the largest bloc in a general election last October but fell short of a majority. Mr Al Sadr was unable to muster enough support for his choice of president in the face of challenges from the rival Co-ordination Framework bloc, made of up largely of groups backed by Iran.

     Iraq  has finally  elected Abdul Lateef Rasheed as its new president  and  Mohammad Al Sudani  as prime minister.  Mr Rasheed won against former president Barham Salih, who was running for a second term, and quickly named  Mr Sudani as prime minister .  Who is Abdul Lateef Rasheed?  Mr Rasheed, 78, is a veteran politician, having served in high positions of government throughout his life. Born in the northern Kurdish city of Sulaymaniyah, he began his career in his 20s after joining the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). He achieved his degree in civil engineering from Liverpool University in the UK and continued his education there, earning a master's degree and a doctorate in engineering from Manchester University. Mr Rasheed then became Iraq 's minister of water resources from 2003 to 2010, before being appointed as a senior adviser in the PUK by the late president Jalal Talabani, who was also the founder of the group ...