Former Iraqi President Barham Ahmed Salih has been elected by the United Nations General Assembly as the new High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Salih was selected following a competitive process in New York that attracted candidates from various countries.
He is expected to officially assume office on 1 January 2026 and will be based in Geneva.
UNHCR High Commissioner Filippo Grandi, whose 10-year tenure concludes on 31 December 2025, welcomed the appointment. “Barham Salih brings decades of high-level public service, marked by steady leadership and thoughtful diplomacy. Coming from a country recently affected by conflict, persecution, and widespread displacement, he has first-hand experience of the challenges many refugees face today. His background and experience make him well suited to lead UNHCR at a time of large-scale displacement and increasingly complex humanitarian and political challenges,” said Grandi.
Grandi, who has led UNHCR since January 2016, has overseen responses to major displacement crises worldwide, including in Syria, Ukraine, and Sudan.
Despite deep cuts in humanitarian funding this year, UNHCR remains active in 128 countries, with nearly 90 per cent of its more than 14,600 staff working in the field. This month, UNHCR also marks 75 years of protecting people forced to flee their homes.
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