Iraq Parliament Elects Fouad Masoum, a Kurd, as President

Fouad Masoum, a veteran Kurdish politician, was elected president of Iraq amid a political deadlock aggravated by an Islamist insurgency that has seized major cities.

Masoum, 76, was elected to the largely ceremonial position after winning a second-round ballot with 211 votes to 17 for his competitor, Hussein Al-Mousawi, after no candidate won a majority in the first round, parliament speaker Saleem al-Jibouri said. Masoum, like his predecessor Jalal Talabani, is a founding members of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.