Iraq's new Finance Minister has Dutch history

Iraq's new government has a Dutch touch. The new Minister of Finance, Faud Hussein, lived in the Netherlands for years. He fled Iraq in the 1970s, studied at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, married a Dutch woman, and worked for other refugees. He speaks fluent Dutch, NOS reports.

Early this month Hussein, member of the Kurdish democratic party PUK, also made a run for the presidency. But Barham Salih of the same party received the most votes in parliament.

Adel Abul Mahdi was appointed Prime Minister early in October. He has 30 days to form a new government. On Tuesday the Iraqi parliament voted for 14 of the 22 ministerial posts. The other eight ministers will be voted on at a later date.