Iraqi Kurdistan’s MPs name president’s cousin as new PM

Iraqi Kurdistan’s parliament on Tuesday named Masrour Barzani as the region’s new premier, a day after his cousin was sworn in as its president.

Masrour Barzani, 50, is the son of longtime Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani and had been serving as national security adviser for the autonomous region since 2012, AFP said.

He won the votes of 87 of the 97 members present in the region’s 111-seat chamber – more than his cousin received when he was elected president late last month. PM-elect Barzani will have one month to form the autonomous region’s Cabinet.

As national security adviser, Barzani had a major role in the region’s fight against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS), which swept across a third of Iraq in 2014. He succeeds his cousin Nechirvan who had served as PM since 2012.