85 / 128
R
ELIGION
, P
OLITICS
,
AND THE
E
CONOMY
85
and performs many ceremonial
duties. The president is elected
by the members of the Council of
Representatives. A Kurdish
politician, Jalal Talabani, served
as president of Iraq from April
2005 to July 2014. Talabani was
succeeded by another Kurd,
Fuad Masum.
One of the president’s most
important duties is to select the
prime minister, who actually
runs the day-to-day operations of
Iraq’s government and is the
leader of the Council of
Representatives. The Shiite
politician Nouri al-Maliki became
prime minister in 2005, but he
was often criticized during his
tenure for discriminating against
Sunni Arabs. In August 2014,
during the Islamic State crisis,
Maliki resigned the post of prime
minister under pressure from
President Masum. He was suc-
ceeded by Haider al-Abadi, also a
Shia Muslim.
The Council of Representatives
currently includes 328 members.
The Council meets in Baghdad for
two sessions each year, during
which it passes national laws,
Traditionally, Kurds have held the office of presi-
dency, while Shiites have held the post of prime
minister, to ensure balance among those factions.
Iraq’s current president, Fuad Masum, helped to
draft the country’s constitution.
In August of 2014, Haider al-Abadi became prime
minister of Iraq. The prime minister is permitted to
serve two four-year terms.