UPDATED: Kurdistan Parliament confirms Masrour Barzani as new PM of KRG

The Kurdistan Parliament on Wednesday confirmed Masrour Barzani as the new Prime Minister of the autonomous Kurdistan Region along with his government cabinet by a majority vote.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Parliament on Wednesday confirmed Masrour Barzani as the new Prime Minister of the autonomous Kurdistan Region along with his government cabinet by a majority vote.

Barzani received 88 favorable votes from 106 lawmakers in attendance, and his deputy, Qubad Talabani, received 73.

The new Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) cabinet, comprised of 21 ministers, was also approved by majority vote. The post of the Minister of Natural Resources remains vacant for now as the candidate has yet to be chosen by the leading Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).

Barzani, the former Chancellor of the Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC), formed his new cabinet within the legal timeframe of 30 days after he was instructed to do so by President Nechirvan Barzani on June 12.

The formation of the new government comes months after the parliamentary elections was held in the Kurdistan Region on Sept. 30.

The number of female ministers has gone up by two new members in the new KRG cabinet, from one in the previous government.

  • The following is the list of members forming the new KRG cabinet, as well as the number of votes they received:
  • Masrour Barzani (KDP) – Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) [88 votes]
  • Qubad Talabani (PUK) – Deputy Prime Minister of the KRG [73 votes]
  • Farsat Ahmed Abdullah (KDP) – Minister of Justice [84 votes]
  • Shorsh Ismael Abdullah (Gorran) – Minister of Peshmerga [73 votes]
  • Rebar Ahmed Khalid (KDP) – Minister of Interior [76 votes]
  • Awat Janab Nouri Salih (Gorran) – Minister of Finance and Economy [81 votes]
  • Saman Hussein Mohammed Barzinji (KDP) – Minister of Health [81 votes]
  • Alan Hama-Saeed Salih Mohammed (KDP) – Minister of Education [85 votes]
  • Dana Abdulkarim Hama Salih Abdulrahman (Gorran) – Minister of Housing and Reconstruction [80 votes]
  • Sasan Osman Awni Habib (KDP) – Minister of Municipalities and Tourism [85 votes]
  • Aram Mohammed Qadir Amin (PUK) – Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research [76 votes]
  • Dara Rashid Mahmoud (PUK) – Minister of Planning [75 votes]
  • Kwestan Mohammed Abdullah Marouf (Gorran) – Minister of Labour and Social Affairs [74 votes]
  • Mohammed Saeed Ali (PUK) – Minister of Culture and Youth [75 votes]
  • Abdullah Mahmoud San Ahmed (KSDP) – Minister of Martyrs and Anfal [85 votes]
  • Begard Dilshad Shukrllah (PUK) – Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources [83 votes]
  • Kamal Muslim Saeed Qarani (Gorran) – Minister of Trade and Industries [85 votes]
  • Ano Jawhar Abdulmasih Abdoka (Christian minority) – Minister of Transport and Communications [80 votes]
  • Pishtiwan Sadiq Abdullah (KDP) – Minister of Endowment and Religious Affairs [77 votes]
  • Kamal Mohammed Salih Khalil (KDP) – Minister of Electricity [85 votes]
  • Khalid Salam Saeed [Khalid Shwani] (PUK) – Region Minister [68 votes]
  • Aydin Marouf Salim (Turkmen minority) – Region Minister [78 votes]
  • Vala Fareed Ibrahim (KDP) – Region Minister [83 votes]

Editing by Nadia Riva