Prime Minister of Iraq


The prime minister of Iraq is the head of government of Iraq. The prime minister was originally an appointed office, subsidiary to the head of state, and the nominal leader of the Iraqi parliament. Under the newly adopted constitution the prime minister is the country's active executive authority. Nouri al-Maliki was selected to be prime minister on 21 April 2006. On 14 August 2014, al-Maliki agreed to step down as prime minister of Iraq to allow Haider al-Abadi to take his place. On 25 October 2018, Adil Abdul-Mahdi was sworn into office five months after the 2018 elections until his resignation in 2019.. He was once again appointed, this time as a caretaker prime minister due to political dispute. Abdul-Mahdi was replaced by Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, who was approved by the parliament on 7 May 2020.

Appointment

The Council of Representatives elected the president of the Republic and his deputies, including the president of the Council of Ministers.
The Presidency Council then shall name a prime minister unanimously. According to this, the Presidency Council must agree on a candidate for the post within two weeks. In the event that it fails to do so, the responsibility of naming the prime minister reverts to the National Assembly. In that event, the Council of Representatives must confirm the nomination by an absolute majority. If the prime minister is unable to nominate his Council of Ministers within one month, the Presidency Council shall name another prime minister.

Agencies directly subordinate

The Iraqi Counter Terrorism Bureau reports to the prime minister directly. The Iraqi CTB oversees the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Command, a formation that includes all Iraqi Special Operations Forces. As of 30 June 2009, there had been legislation in progress for a year to make the Iraqi CTB a separate ministry.