By John Lee. The Prime Minister's nominee for the post of oil minister in his new 'technocrat cabinet' has reportedly withdrawn his candidacy, apparently because he had not been formally proposed by the main Kurdish groups. Nizar Saleem Numan, a 65-year-old Kurdish petroleum geologist, who is the dean of the college of planning at the University […]
By John Lee. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi nominated a new cabinet on Thursday, pledging to make political reforms to reduce corruption in response to sit-in protests in Baghdad led by Muqtada al-Sadr. Sixteen ministries will be changed, and the parliament will vote in ten days to either approve, reject or amend the proposed cabinet. No […]
By John Lee. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has called for parliament to either support or reject his calls for a technocratic government, pushing back against a looming deadline for a new cabinet, according to a report from AFP. He said Parliament must decide if it wants him "to present ministers from the political blocs or […]
By John Lee. Iraqi Oil Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi [Adil Abd Al-Mahdi] (pictured) has said he is "suspending his participation" in cabinet meetings, until parliament votes on his resignation, which he offered last summer. He has also cancelled all appointments and activities relating to his position as Minister, saying that his decision was aimed at "confronting […]
By John Lee. The Iraqi Parliament has set a deadline of Thursday this week for Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to present a new cabinet. Nearly two months ago, Abadi said he would replace the current ministers with “technocrat” figures who are no affiliated with political parties. "If Abadi fails to present his new cabinet, he […]
By Omar Sattar, for Al-Monitor. Any opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Iraq Business News. With Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi thought to be working on reforms that include the formation of a technocratic Cabinet, the issue of proxy appointments is back in the spotlight. For more than a […]
By John Lee. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has called for the inclusion of technocrats and academics in the government in a "fundamental" reshuffle to his cabinet, according to a report from AFP. In a speech on Tuesday, al-Abadi called on parliament "and all the political blocs to cooperate with us in this serious phase". Iraqi […]
By John Lee. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has sacked the Minister for Trade, Mlas Mohammed Al-Kasanzan [Abdulkarim Malas al-Kasnazani] (pictured), for failing to show up for work. A statement from the Prime Minister's office said al-Kasnazani was dismissed because of his "absence ... from his duties as Minister of Commerce [i.e. Trade] for more than […]
By John Lee. As part of his recently-announced reform programme, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has ordered the immediate reduction in the number of ministers from 33 to 22: In a statement on Sunday, the Prime Minister said that he has: Abolished the posts of Deputy Prime Minister. Abolished the following ministerial positions: Ministry of Human […]
By John Lee. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi (pictured) has reportedly dismissed his cabinet secretary and his aides on Wednesday. Mohammed Khalaf Ahmed was said to be a close associate of Abadi’s predecessor, Nouri al-Maliki. Reuters cites an official in his media office as saying that the move was as part al-Abadi's push to cut "unnecessary government […]
One of Iraq's deputy prime ministers has stepped down, and is to be investigated for corruption, reports HuffPost. Baha al-Araji (pictured), deputy prime minister for energy affairs, resigned on Monday. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's anti-corruption reform bill, which includes the elimination of the three Deputy Prime Minister positions, was passed by parliament. (Source: […]
By John Lee. The Iraqi cabinet has approved Prime minister Haider al-Abadi’s wide-ranging plan to slash spending and improve the government’s performance. The seven-point plan, which includes the abolition of the three vice-presidential posts and the three deputy prime minister posts, now goes before parliament for approval. According to the unedited statement from the Office of […]
