Baghdad, 30 July 2003 (RFE/RL) -- Iraq's U.S.-appointed interim Governing Council today met to decide the order of rotation in its nine-member chairmanship. The French AFP news agency reported that the council named Ibrahim al-Ja'fari from the Shi'ite fundamentalist Islamic Da'wah party as the first president of the council.
The 25-member council had originally been expected to choose one chairman, but yesterday reached a compromise and decided to rotate the leadership position monthly among five Shi'ite Arabs, two Sunni Arabs, and two Kurdish members.
Any decisions made by the Governing Council are subject to the approval of Paul Bremer, the top U.S. administrator in Iraq.
The 25-member council had originally been expected to choose one chairman, but yesterday reached a compromise and decided to rotate the leadership position monthly among five Shi'ite Arabs, two Sunni Arabs, and two Kurdish members.
Any decisions made by the Governing Council are subject to the approval of Paul Bremer, the top U.S. administrator in Iraq.