After months of deadlock and political crisis, and following the failure of two other prime minister-designates, the Iraqi parliament finally approved Mustafa Kadhimi for the premiership — also voting in favor of his government plan and 15 of 22 proposed ministers — on Wednesday. The remaining seven portfolios will be discussed and voted on later.
In an interview with CNN last month, Iraqi President Barham Salih said of Kadhimi, “We just appointed … the head of intelligence of the country. But this gentleman that has just been appointed is a former journalist, a human rights activist, and he's quite, quite well-known in the human rights circle.”