Former Iraqi President Barham Salih is on course to become the next head of the United Nations refugee agency after Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recommended him for the job.

A signed letter from Guterres, dated Thursday and addressed to Atsuyuki Oike, Japan’s top diplomat in Geneva and chair of UNHCR’s executive committee, that was seen by news agencies, confirmed the appointment pending formal approval.

All going according to plan, Salih, 65, will succeed Filippo Grandi , whose second five-year term as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees expires on December 31, becoming the first non-Western head of the Geneva-based agency in about half a century.

Alessandra Vellucci, chief spokesperson for the UN office, told reporters that the appointment would have to go through “a prope

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