Krikor Der-Hagopian at the 9th Sulaimani Forum, in Sulaimaniyah, Iraq, on Apr. 025 (AUI Sulaimani photo)

Iraq has nominated Krikor Der-Hagopian, an Armenian adviser to the country’s Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, as ambassador to Washington, the Al Monitor newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Regional diplomats confirmed the nomination to Al-Monitor, describing it as part of a broader effort by Baghdad to recalibrate relations with the United States.

Der-Hagopian, a US-educated Iraqi official who has served in numerous roles, including as an adviser to former President Barham Saleh and to the last prime minister, Mohamed Shia al-Sudani, is awaiting formal consent from the Trump administration before taking up his post. If confirmed, he would become Iraq’s first non-Shiite ambassador to Washington in decades.

The 49-year-old father of three, who earned a master’s in international relations at the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies, is widely seen as a shoo-in, Al Monitor reported. Well-placed sources familiar with Der-Hagopian say he has an established track record of maintaining smooth relations with successive US administrations.

“I view his appointment as an extremely positive signal that the prime minister has decided to send probably the most qualified member of his own team, the person with the most insights on how Washington works,” Victoria Taylor, a former deputy assistant secretary of state for Iraq and Iran, who left the post in May 2025 to join the Atlantic Council, told Al-Monitor.

“I am not surprised to hear that Krikor is being considered for such a prestigious position,” said Denver-based political scientist Simon Maghakyan, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Oxford, who got to know Der-Hagopian during the latter’s graduate studies in Denver. “I remember him as a bright, sincere, and strategic thinker and bridge-builder,” Maghakyan told Al-Monitor.

Der-Hagopian will be replacing Iraq’s former deputy foreign minister, Nizar al-Khairallah, who is the current Iraqi ambassador in Washington. In a related development, a seasoned State Department Middle East hand, Peter Shea, is expected to replace another State Department professional, Joshua Harris, as interim head of mission in Baghdad until — and if — a permanent ambassador is named.

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