Iraqis are desperate to reboot their creaking democracy. Nearly every government since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003 has proven corrupt, incompetent or dysfunctional. Their new prime minister, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, hardly seems like a change. The 76-year-old former finance and oil minister belongs to the old elite, whose fathers were ministers when Iraq was […]
By Hamdi Malik for Al Monitor. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. Most of the political forces participating in the Iraqi parliament have stressed the need to leave the quota system behind. The deeply entrenched differences, however, surfaced during the parliament […]
After five months of political uncertainty, Iraq finally has a new prime minister. On October 3, Iraq’s newly named president, Barham Salih, picked Adel Abdul Mahdi, an independent Shia politician, to be the next prime minister and form a government. The appointment of Mahdi may have provided an opportunity to calm the protests that have […]
By John Lee. Iraq's Prime Minister-designate Adel Abdul Mahdi has launched a website to allow Iraqis to apply for ministerial positions in his new cabinet. According to BBC News, Mr Abdul Mahdi invited "those with expertise, specialisation and practical experience" to come forward. Applicants have until Thursday to submit a CV and evidence they meet […]
Iraq’s prime minister-designate, Adel Abdul Mahdi, is the kind of leader the U.S. might have hoped for: experienced, well-respected, and, by the standards of Iraqi politics, above sectarian and ethnic factionalism, according to an editorial piece from Bloomberg Opinion: "Unfortunately, the chances that he can create a government consistent with those values remain slim. "While […]
By John Lee. Former Oil Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has been named as Iraq's Prime Minister-designate, ending months of deadlock. Described by BBC News as "a veteran Shia Islamist politician", Mahdi now has 30 days to form a cabinet and present it to parliament for approval. The French-educated economist is the nominee of the two […]
By Simon Kent. Iraq's oil minister Adel Abdul Mahdi (pictured) has spoken to Reuters regarding Iraq's position on OPEC's failure to agree on a production ceiling as the battle to drive out shale production continues. Abdul Mahdi said that Iraq was now looking at the "real world" and that they would have to monitor production in countries […]
By John Lee. It's a deal that could cement a prosperous shared future for Baghdad and Arbil. But despite the new good will between the two sides, there is huge political opposition from Iraqi Arabs who object to the current terms. In the Kurdish region, many feel that the history has already turned toward their […]
One of Iraq's three deputy presidents has stepped down amid signs of divisions in the coalition government formed by Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish factions. Reuters reports that the resignation of Adel Abdul-Mahdi [Adel Abd al-Mahdi] came as Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki fends off critics who say he has not delivered on power-sharing promises since forming […]
A delegation from the Saudi al-Jumaih Holding Company briefed Iraqi Vice President Abdel Abdulmahdi [Adel Abdul Mahdi] on the projects the firm is planning in the oil and electricity sectors, according to a report from Aswat al-Iraq. Abdulmahdi welcomed the Saudi firm and all other Arab and foreign companies planning to invest in the Iraqi […]
It has been a busy week politically in Iraq, with both good and bad news emerging from the country: The last American combat brigade left the country on Thursday morning, seven years after the US-led invasion; 6,000 support troops will remain until the end of the month, and a further 50,000 will stay until the […]
Twice in recent days, senior Iraqi government officials have stressed the need to solve the parliamentary stalemate internally within Iraq, without influence from outside: Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki specifically warned the United States not to interfere in the country’s internal affairs, while Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi reportedly described it as “an internal affair and non-Iraqis […]
