Abdul Latif Rashid

Abdul Latif Rashid
لەتیف ڕەشید
9th President of Iraq
Incumbent
Assumed office 17 October 2022
Prime Minister	Mustafa Al-Kadhimi Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani
Preceded by	Barham Salih
Personal details
Born	(1944-08-10) 10 August 1944 Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan, Kingdom of Iraq
Citizenship	Iraq United Kingdom
Political party	PUK
Children	3
Residence(s)	Radwaniyah Palace, Baghdad, Iraq
Alma mater	University of Manchester, University of Liverpool

Abdul Latif Rashid (Arabic: عبد اللطيف رشيد; born 10 August 1944), also known as Latif Rashid (Kurdish: لەتیف ڕەشید) is an Iraqi Kurdish politician and the 9th president of Iraq, following the 2022 Iraqi presidential election. He was previously the Minister of Water Resources under the government of Nouri al-Maliki. Prior to that, he served in the same position under both the Iraqi Transitional Government and the Iraqi Interim Government. Rashid was formerly a spokesperson for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in the United Kingdom. He is a graduate of the University of Manchester.

As Minister for Water Resources from September 2003 till December 2010, Rashid was responsible for a range of issues, including irrigation, municipal and industrial water supply, hydropower, flood control, and environmental requirements including marsh restoration. After the removal of Saddam Hussein's regime in April 2005 the Minister oversaw dramatic improvements in the management of the country's water resources.

Biography

Rashid was born in 1944 in Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan, Kingdom of Iraq, to an upper class Kurdish family. Rashid took British secondary school 'A-Levels' in North Wales. He has a B.Sc. (1968) in Civil Engineering from Liverpool University, and an M.Sc. (1972) and Ph.D. (1976) in Engineering from Manchester University. Upon returning to Iraq, became an active member of the PUK under the leadership of Mr Jalal Talabani.

The Minister has been involved with a number of programs and organizations related to engineering, agriculture developments. He previously worked as senior Project Manager for the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO) in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. He was a member of Executive Council of the Iraqi National Congress (INC) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan's Representative in the UK since 1986 as well as spokesman for the Kurdistan Front.

Dr Rashid is a chartered engineer, a fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineering and the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID). He has been a freelance consultant for irrigation and drainage projects and worked with the Water Engineering Administration.

In 1992 Rashid was elected vice president and Executive Member of the Iraqi National Congress (INC), and in 1998 he was elected to the six-member leadership of the INC.

Apart from technical qualifications and engagements Rashid has taken an active part in both Kurdish and Iraqi politics. 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.

He is married to Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmed and they have two sons and one daughter.

President of Iraq

On 13 October 2022, Latif Rashid was elected as the 9th President of Iraq. Rashid replaced Barham Saleh as head of state after the two-round vote in parliament, winning more than 162 votes against 99 for Saleh