Iraqi president relinquishes British citizenship in compliance with constitution

Source: Xinhua| 2018-12-16 19:47:57|Editor: Shi Yinglun
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BAGHDAD, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi President Barham Salih said Sunday that he legally relinquished his British citizenship in accordance with the provisions of the Iraqi constitution.

Luqman al-Faily, spokesman of Salih's office, said in a statement that "the legal procedures for his (Barham Salih) waiver of British citizenship have been completed."

Faily said that Salih's renunciation of British citizenship came in compliance with Article 18 of the Iraqi constitution, which stipulates "everyone who assumes a senior, security or sovereign position must abandon any other acquired citizenship."

According to the statement, Salih "extends his sincere thanks and appreciation to the United Kingdom, which gave him citizenship during his opposition to the former (Saddam Hussein) regime."

On October 2, the Iraqi parliament elected Barham Salih, 58, who is a veteran Kurdish politician, as the president of Iraq for the next four years.

Salih was born in the city of Sulaimaniyah in northeastern Iraq. He was former prime minister of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan from 2001 to 2004. Later, he became deputy prime minister of the federal government and occupied many ministerial posts in Baghdad and Erbil in the last 15 years.

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