Barham Salih Elected to Lead UNHCR Amid Record Global Displacement

The United Nations General Assembly convened on Thursday, December 18, 2025, to elect Dr. Barham Salih, the former President of Iraq, as the next United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). This consensus-based decision, confirmed by Assembly President Annalena Baerbock, marks the first time an official from the Middle East has assumed leadership of the global refugee agency since the late 1970s. Salih, age 65, is scheduled to begin his five-year tenure on January 1, 2026, succeeding Filippo Grandi, whose decade of service concludes on December 31, 2025.

This leadership transition occurs as the humanitarian strain intensifies, with the latest figures from late 2025 indicating a record 117.3 million people forcibly displaced worldwide as of June 2025. When Grandi commenced his term in January 2016, the global displacement figure stood at just over 65 million people, illustrating a near doubling of the crisis during his tenure. The appointment of Salih, a Kurdish politician who served as Iraq's president from 2018 until 2022, is seen as introducing a perspective grounded in direct experience with conflict and forced flight, having been detained by Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party in 1979 before fleeing to the United Kingdom.

Endorsements for Salih emphasized his extensive political and administrative background. UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated that Salih brings "senior diplomatic, political and administrative leadership experience" to the role, while outgoing High Commissioner Filippo Grandi cited Salih's "decades of high-level public service, marked by steady leadership and thoughtful diplomacy." Salih articulated his leadership approach as centering on pragmatism and empathy, calling for a "renewed focus on impact, accountability and efficiency" to manage the operational pressures facing the agency.

Salih’s background includes significant roles in post-conflict Iraq, such as serving as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Planning in transitional governments following the 2003 ousting of Saddam Hussein. He also founded the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani. His leadership will immediately address severe financial pressures within the agency, which, as of late 2025, necessitated spending cuts and job reductions following sharp reductions in foreign aid contributions from key donors, despite securing early pledges for 2026. As of mid-2025, UNHCR was grappling with a significant funding gap, with only 15 percent of its anticipated $10.248 billion funding need secured for the year.

The agency’s mandate covers protection for refugees, internally displaced people (IDPs), and stateless persons—the latter group totaling 4.4 million as of June 2025. Salih’s stated commitment to building upon recent reforms to strengthen operational effectiveness and ensure value for money directly addresses the need for robust financial backing to manage protracted crises in regions including Sudan, Ukraine, and Syria. The election of a leader with direct experience of persecution is viewed by some hosting nations, such as Türkiye, as a positive development that may bolster advocacy for greater international burden-sharing.