Exclusive: Former Iraqi president picked to lead UN Refugee Agency

Former Iraqi President Barham Salih has been chosen to lead the UN Refugee Agency, according to well-informed sources, marking a sharp break for a post that has been dominated by European nationals since its founding after World War II. Salih — whose appointment has not been publicly announced — beat out a slate of about a dozen candidates, including nationals from key donor countries such as Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden. He will succeed Filippo Grandi, the Italian incumbent, who will step down at the end of the year after a decade on the job. Salih will serve a five-year term, with the prospect of running for a second term. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, who once ran the refugee agency himself, made the choice after narrowing down the number of candidates to a short list of three or four. The other short-listed candidates, including former IKEA chief Jesper Brodin, were all European. Salih, who currently serves as a senior fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, played a major role in Iraq's reconstruction and economic recovery following the U.S. invasion. An Iraqi Kurd, he also served in numerous top positions in Iraq’s Kurdish region, including prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government. “As humanitarian space narrows and trust in multilateralism falters, UNHCR must lead with renewed moral clarity and operational discipline,” he wrote in response to a series of questions put to the candidates by International Council of Voluntary Agencies, or ICVA, a coalition of more than 170 nongovernmental organizations. “My vision is a UNHCR that places refugees at the center, recognizing that humanitarian aid is meant to be temporary.” “Far too many refugees remain displaced for years — often beyond a decade — trapped in cycles of dependency rather than pathways to dignity through education, livelihoods, and inclusion in national systems,” he added. “UNHCR must also remain a steady anchor in an unpredictable world — reliable for host governments, trusted by donors, and consistent in its moral and operational compass.” The Geneva-based refugee agency, which was established in 1950 to manage the resettlement of mostly European refugees displaced by World War II, marks the end of a near European monopoly over the agency’s leadership. Only two non-Europeans — Sadaka Ogata of Japan and Sadruddin Aga Khan, a French-born Iranian international civil servant — have led the organization. The selection of Salih — who had the backing of the Arab Group, including the United Arab Emirates — places a national from outside the donor class at the helm of the agency. And it comes in an era in which the traditional donors from Europe and the U.S. have been scaling back their financial support for the UN Refugee Agency. Salih received strong backing from Arab governments, including the United Arab Emirates.