The country is in your hands . That 's what the speaker of Iraq 's Parliament reportedly told Haider al-Abadi the day he was named to replace Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki . A Shiite lawmaker then shook Abadi 's hand . `` May God help you , '' he told him , according to The New York Times . He will likely need all the help he can get . Abadi will inherit the political reins of a country deeply divided along sectarian lines , a split that has aided a brutal campaign by extremist Sunni fighters with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria , which refers to itself as the Islamic State . So who is the man that world leaders , diplomats and Iraqis hope can hold the country together ? On paper , Abadi politically resembles the man he will replace . Like al-Maliki , he is a member of the Islamic Dawa Party , one of the country 's biggest Shiite political blocs . Like the man he 'll take over from , his power base is with Iraq 's majority Shiites . And just like him , he was forced into exile by Saddam Hussein and he returned to Iraq after the Sunni dictator was toppled in the U.S.-led 2003 invasion . But that 's where the similarities likely end . Abadi is viewed as a moderate and has shown more of a willingness to compromise than al-Maliki , Ranj Alaadin , an Iraqi specialist at Columbia University , told the BBC . `` He is very engaging , articulate and direct , '' Alaadin told the British network . Abadi was born in Baghdad in 1952 , according to his website . A long-time member of the Dawa Party -- he is said to have joined as a teenager -- he was one of thousands of prominent Iraqis who left the country during Saddam Hussein 's rule . Abadi left to study abroad after receiving a bachelor 's degree in 1975 , and stayed away as Hussein tightened his grip on the country . Two of his brothers were not so lucky ; they were executed in 1982 for belonging to the Dawa Party . The following year , the regime canceled Abadi 's passport . Abadi spent many years in Britain , where he received a doctorate in electrical engineering at the University of Manchester . His father , who had been a prominent Iraqi official , was accused of insufficient loyalty to the regime and was forced to retire in 1979 . He moved to Britain and lived there until his death . After Hussein was ousted , Abadi returned to Iraq in 2003 and became communications minister in the interim government , where his language skills and international contacts proved valuable . According to his biography , he was put in charge of ridding the northern Iraqi city of Tal Afar of al Qaeda in 2005 , and successfully brought tribes together in doing so . It may prove to have been useful experience ; Tal Afar is now under the control of ISIS . In interviews in recent weeks , he has stressed the need for unity and compromise in the face of a common enemy , saying all groups had been weakened in the face of the militant threat . He has argued fervently against the division of Iraq and said he is open to help from Iran , where many Dawa Party members lived in exile . Al-Maliki will continue to serve as the country 's caretaker Prime Minister -- as well as its top military commander -- until Abadi forms a new government . Why does the U.S. intervene militarily in Iraq but not in Syria ? After the rescue : A Yazidi family 's harrowing flight to escape ISIS . Arab neighbors joined ISIS slaughter , escaped Yazidi says .
Haider al-Abadi is a member of the same political party as Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki . Abadi , a Shiite , is viewed as a moderate . He was forced into exile by Saddam Hussein , and he returned to Iraq in 2003 . He was born in Baghdad in 1952 .