President Nechirvan Barzani takes oath of office at Kurdistan Parliament's Presidential inauguration ceremony
6th June 2019 – The Kurdistan Parliament today held the inauguration of the new President of the Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Idris Mustafa Barzani. Parliament Speaker Dr. Vala Fareed presided at the historic ceremony where President Barzani took his oath of office before MPs and hundreds of dignitaries and guests.
In his acceptance speech, President Barzani said, “Honourable Speaker of Parliament, honourable MPs who represent the people of Kurdistan of all creeds and views, I thank you, as representatives of the people, for electing me President of the Kurdistan Region for the next four years. I thank all MPs, I thank those who voted, those who didn’t vote, those who didn’t attend the vote, I thank every one of you. Each one of you, of your own volition, as representatives of the voters and according to the guidance of the parties that you represent in parliament, exercised your democratic rights and responsibilities. Today the greatest achievement is the continuation of the democratic process in the Kurdistan Region. Thank you for your trust in me.”
Dignatories included President Masoud Barzani, Iraq’s President Barham Salih, Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament Mohammed al-Halbousi, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Chancellor of the Kurdistan Region Security Council Masrour Barzani, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State for Gulf Affairs Thamer Al Sabhan, Iraqi politicians Ammar al-Hakim, Salim Al-Jubouri and Khamis Al Khanjar.
President Masoud Barzani, the former president and head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, in a short speech expressed his support for the new president and calling on the implementation of the Iraqi constitution to resolve long-standing disputes between Erbil and Baghdad.
Speaker Dr. Vala Fareed, Deputy Speaker Hemin Hawrami and Secretary Muna Kahveci welcomed guests at the Parliament sitting and inauguration ceremony, which was held in the Saad Abdullah Palace conference centre to accommodate the hundreds of guests who attended.
Political leaders and officials from the Kurdistan Region at the inauguration included acting Head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) Kosrat Rasul Ali, Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, Head of the Gorran Movement Omar Sayid Ali, Head of the Kurdistan Islamic Union Salahaddin Bahaadin, Head of the Socialist Democratic Party Muhammad Haji Mahmoud, PUK Leadership Council members Hakim Qadir Hamadjan, Omar Fattah and Arsalan Baiz, KRG ministers and provincial governors.
Families of martyrs, veteran Peshmerga soldiers, heads of universities, civil society groups and NGOs also attended the inauguration.
