GENEVA — U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres has recommended former Iraqi President Barham Salih to become the next head of the U.N. refugee agency, the first nomination from the Middle East in half a century, according to a letter from the U.N. chief.

Salih, 65, is set to succeed longtime agency veteran Filippo Grandi as the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. Grandi took office on Jan. 1, 2016, and his second five-year term expires on Dec. 31. He succeeded Guterres in the post.

The expected succession comes at the end of a devastating year for many U.N. organizations like the Geneva-based refugee agency. It has cut thousands of jobs and spending in the wake of sharply reduced foreign aid contributions by the United States — traditionally its top donor — and other Western countries

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