Iraqi President Barham Salih designated Adnan al-Zurfi, a former regional governor with little national political profile, as prime minister, tasked with forming a government within 30 days in a bid to overcome months of unrest and political deadlock.
Zurfi, who served as governor of the predominantly Shiite Najaf province during the US occupation after the fall of Saddam Hussein, is head of the small Nasr parliamentary group of former prime minister Haidar al-Abadi.
Lawmakers told Reuters that Salih had named Zurfi only after larger rival Shiite political parties failed to decide on a successor to Adel Abdul Mahdi, who resigned in November during mass unrest in which hundreds of people died.
Iraqis have been protesting for months against an elite they accuse of depriving them of basic services such as power supplies or decent hospitals despite the country's oil wealth.
Zurfi, who lived in the United States as a refugee in the 1990s after fleeing Saddam, is seen as a comparatively secular figure in a country long dominated by sectarian parties.
He now has to win the confidence of parliament for his new cabinet, a difficult task as major Iranian-backed groups objected to his nomination.
"Zurfi will face tough resistance inside parliament and he will need a miracle to pass his government," a Shiite lawmaker told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
If Zurfi can secure parliamentary approval for his cabinet, he would run the country until early elections can be held.
He is the second politician Salih has tapped to try to form a government since Adel Mahdi announced his resignation. On Feb. 1, Salih named Mohammed Allawi as prime minister-designate, but he withdrew candidacy for the post a month later, accusing political parties of obstructing him.
