Dr Zmkan Saleem

Associate Fellow, Middle East and North Africa Programme

Headshot of Zmkan Ali Saleem

Biography

Dr Zmkan Saleem is an Associate Fellow with the Middle East and North Africa Programme. He was previously Director of Research at the Institute of Regional and International Studies (IRIS) at the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani.

During his tenure, Dr Saleem served as a lead researcher for projects funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), the EU and the Norwegian Research Council focusing on political economy in Iraq and Kurdistan.


He holds a PhD in Politics and International Studies from the University of Leeds and teaches in the College of Political Sciences at the University of Suliamani. His doctoral research examined the domestic sources of Iran’s regional security policies.

Dr Saleem has contributed to the Fikra Forum at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Past experience

2009-recentAssistant Professor of Political Science, University of Sulaimani, Iraq
2003-09Liaison Officer at Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)