Nadhim Zahawi is an Iraqi-born Kurdish-British politician serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer since 5 July 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been a Member of Parliament for Stratford-on-Avon since 2010.
Where is Nadhim Zahawi from?
He was born in Baghdad, Iraqi Republic, so we believed he was from there.
Nadhim was born in Iraq in 1967 the year the Baath political party retook power, Mr Zahawi came from a relatively prominent Kurdish family whose influence — and later safety — was threatened by the rise of Saddam Hussein to power in the 1970s.
His grandfather had been the governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, his signature appearing on the country’s banknotes, but the Zahawis’ sway eventually drew the ire of the ruling elite.
When his father, a businessman, was tipped-off that the secret police loyal to Saddam, then the deputy leader of Iraq, was coming for him, he quickly arranged his escape.
Telling his colleagues he was going on a trip to the north of the country, the Kurd instead packed his bags for Baghdad Airport.
He has previously reflected on the “traumatic” moment when he watched the plane in which his father was travelling prepare to take off, only for a military vehicle to approach the aircraft.
He said his mother was in tears and the family were terrified that the army was going to escort his father off the plane. Iraqi authorities instead took the man sitting behind his father and by the time the secret police had raided their home, Mr Zahawi’s father was long gone.
The harrowing experience is one the new chancellor says is “stamped on his memory”. He still recalls how hard it was to shake off the terror that permeated the family home in Baghdad before the rest of the family left to join his father in London.
What ethnicity is Nadhim Zahawi?
Our search made us understand he was born into a Kurdish family, which makes him belong to the Kurdish ethnicity.
He was co-founder of the international Internet-based market research firm YouGov of which he was chief executive until February 2010. A chemical engineer in his earlier career, he was chief strategy officer for Gulf Keystone Petroleum until January 2018. After the retirement of previous Conservative MP John Maples, he was elected for Stratford-upon-Avon at the 2010 general election.
