Iraq installs a 41-year-old banker as PM after a five-month deadlock

Summary

Iraq's parliament approved a government under Ali al-Zaidi on 14 May 2026, ending a five-month deadlock after the 11 November 2025 election (Who Decides). At 41, the multimillionaire banker is Iraq's youngest prime minister. Outgoing PM Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani's Reconstruction and Development Coalition won the most seats (46) but Iraq's compromise-driven system passed him over; the Coordination Framework first backed Nouri al-Maliki, then dropped him after US President Trump threatened to cut aid over Maliki's pro-Iran leanings. President Nizar Amedi, chosen in April, named al-Zaidi PM-designate on 27 April. Only 14 of 23 ministries were filled at the confirmation vote; defence and interior remain vacant amid bloc disputes, leaving the new government structurally incomplete.

By the numbers

• 41, al-Zaidi's age, the youngest PM in Iraq's history.
• 5 months, gap between the November vote and government formation.
• 46, seats won by Sudani's bloc, the largest, yet passed over.
• 14 of 23, ministries filled at the confirmation vote.
• 329, seats in the Council of Representatives.

Why it matters

The choice shows Washington's leverage shaping Baghdad's premiership and Iran-aligned blocs conceding a compromise figure. But empty defence and interior portfolios leave security policy unanchored at a moment of regional volatility, and a businessman-PM's authority over entrenched factions is untested.

What to watch

• Filling the defence and interior ministries and which bloc controls them.
• Al-Zaidi's posture between Washington and Tehran on sanctions and militias.
• Whether the partial cabinet survives early no-confidence pressure.