Nizar Muhammad Said AmidiAmidi is an Iraqi politician who served for many years as an advisor within the Presidency and previously held the position of Minister of Environment. He was elected president by the Iraqi Parliament in 2026.

Nizar Amidi was born on 6 February 1968 in the town of Amedi, within the Duhok Governorate of Iraq. He completed his higher education in mechanical engineering at Mosul University. His life and career have been shaped by his connections between the Kurdish regions of northern Iraq and the capital Baghdad, making him a figure with experience across diverse political and geographic centers.

Fluent in both Arabic and Kurdish, Amidi is a father of four. This multilingual and regional background has led to his recognition as an actor capable of facilitating communication between different power centers in Iraqi politics.

Amidi’s political career began in 1993 within the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. From 1993 to 2003 he served in the party’s general secretariat office. He later rose within the party ranks to become a member of its political bureau and in 2024 was appointed head of the party’s Baghdad office.

His political orientation is seen as closely aligned with the approach of former President Jalal Talabani, who emphasized respect for Iraq’s ethnic and sectarian diversity.

Amidi served within the Iraqi Presidency from 2005 to 2022. During this period he worked as a constitutional advisor under the presidencies of Jalal Talabani Fuad Masum and Barham Salih. In his role at the Presidential Palace in Baghdad he played an active part in managing constitutional crises drafting presidential decrees and facilitating consensus among political actors.

During these duties he gained experience in handling sensitive issues such as relations between the central Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government. Over nearly two decades he was widely regarded in public discourse as a behind-the-scenes consensus builder.

In 2022 Amidi was appointed Minister of Environment in the government of Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani. During his tenure he adopted an approach that framed environmental policy as a component of national security. He placed particular emphasis on water scarcity and climate change and represented Iraq on international platforms.

Although the Ministry of Environment is often regarded as a secondary portfolio Amidi’s term contributed to integrating environmental concerns into a broader political agenda.

Nizar Amidi was elected president in 2026 following a vote in the Iraqi Parliament. In the second round of voting he secured 227 votes defeating his rival Muthanna Amin. The election took place after sessions had been delayed due to disagreements between Iraq’s two major Kurdish political parties.

Under Iraq’s power-sharing system the presidency is reserved for a Kurdish politician the premiership for a Shia Arab and the speakership of parliament for a Sunni Arab. According to the constitution the president is required within 15 days of election to task the candidate of the largest parliamentary bloc with forming a government.

Amidi’s political career has been built not on public rhetoric but on consensus-building and balancing competing interests. For many years he has been involved in managing constitutional crises political deadlocks and disputes between different political actors.