KRG's new Minister of Natural Resources sworn into office
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The Kurdistan Region Parliament approved Kamal Atroshi as the new Minister of Natural Resources in a vote on Wednesday, with Atroshi officially sworn into office.
Out of the 111 MPs in the parliament, 81 voted for the new minister, who was nominated for the position by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Sunday.
The Minister received 45 votes from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) MPs, 17 from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), 7 Change Movement (Gorran) MPs, and 12 members of smaller parties, before taking his oath in front of the parliament and being officially appointed as the new minister.
Atroshi previously served as an Energy Advisor to Prime Minister Masrour Barzani in 2019, after decades working in oil and gas companies across Europe, the Middle East and North America, including in Kuwait and Canada.
He obtained his PhD in Geophysics in Exploration and Production from the University of Bordeaux in France, and worked as a researcher at the French Institute of Petroleum, according to the official.
The ministry has gone without a permanent minister for over a year. PM Barzani served as acting minister when his government came to power, taking over from Ashti Hawrami, who had served in the role since 2006.
Additional reporting by Sangar Abdulrahman
Out of the 111 MPs in the parliament, 81 voted for the new minister, who was nominated for the position by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Sunday.
The Minister received 45 votes from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) MPs, 17 from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), 7 Change Movement (Gorran) MPs, and 12 members of smaller parties, before taking his oath in front of the parliament and being officially appointed as the new minister.
Atroshi previously served as an Energy Advisor to Prime Minister Masrour Barzani in 2019, after decades working in oil and gas companies across Europe, the Middle East and North America, including in Kuwait and Canada.
He obtained his PhD in Geophysics in Exploration and Production from the University of Bordeaux in France, and worked as a researcher at the French Institute of Petroleum, according to the official.
The ministry has gone without a permanent minister for over a year. PM Barzani served as acting minister when his government came to power, taking over from Ashti Hawrami, who had served in the role since 2006.
Additional reporting by Sangar Abdulrahman