Reaffirms Pakistan’s desire to further strengthen its fraternal relations with the republic
President Asif Ali Zardari (left) and Iraqi President Nizar Amidi (right). PHOTO: X
President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday congratulated Nizar Amidi on his election as President of the Republic of Iraq and conveyed his best wishes for success in his new position. Radio Pakistan reported.
In his message, the president expressed confidence that “under the leadership of President Amidi, Iraq will continue its efforts toward stability, progress and national cohesion.”
He reaffirmed Pakistan’s desire to further strengthen its brotherly relations with Iraq and enhance cooperation in areas of mutual interest. President Zardari also conveyed his good wishes for the continued prosperity and well-being of the people of Iraq.
On Saturday, the Iraqi parliament elected the Kurdish politician as the country’s new president, a largely ceremonial role, following last November’s parliamentary elections.
US President Donald Trump threatened in January to withdraw Washington’s support for 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 overcome constitutional deadlock, 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, earning the trust of parliament to become Iraq’s new president.
Amidi, the candidate of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, obtained 227 votes in the second round of the parliamentary vote, defeating his rival Muthanna Amin, who received 15 votes.
His rise caps a political career based less on public rhetoric than on quiet consensus-building.
From the presidential palace to the presidency
For years, Amidi was one of Iraq’s key constitutional advisers, working alongside 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 problem solver, skilled at drafting presidential decrees, managing constitutional crises and building consensus among Iraq’s rival political forces.
The position also gave him rare experience handling one of Iraq’s most sensitive issues: relations between the federal government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq.
Born on February 6, 1968 in the city of Amedi, Dohuk province, Amidi studied mechanical engineering at the University of Mosul before beginning a political career that would span Baghdad and the Kurdish region.
His life and career unfolded between Sulaymaniyah and Baghdad, transforming him into what many Iraqi politicians describe as an interregional figure.
Fluent in Arabic and Kurdish and a father of four, Amidi is often seen as a political translator capable of speaking to Iraq’s rival power centers.
Talabani’s political heir
Amidi began his political career in the office of the 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 seeking a compromise.
From Minister of the Environment to Head of State
In 2022, Amidi joined the government of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani as Minister of the Environment.
Although the ministry is often seen as secondary, he used the position to elevate environmental issues to the level of national security, particularly water scarcity and climate change.
He represented Iraq in major international forums and emerged as one of the most prominent voices defending Iraq’s water rights.
Amidi assumes the presidency at a time of institutional uncertainty and regional tension, with expectations that he will use his experience and extensive network of relationships to reinforce the presidency’s traditional role as guarantor of national unity.
Parliament elected him after two previous sessions were postponed due to disagreements over the position between Iraq’s two main Kurdish parties, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan 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 is a Sunni Arab.
The Iraqi Constitution requires the president to entrust the candidate of the largest parliamentary bloc with the task of forming a government within 15 days of the president’s election.
