Iraqi President Jalal Talabani is reported to be in “critical but stable condition” after having been hospitalized for a stroke.
Mr. Talabani's office said he was taken to a Baghdad hospital late Monday and that the 79-year-old president remained under intensive medical supervision after treatment for blocked arteries.
The Iraqi president has dealt with several health problems in recent years. In 2008, he underwent heart surgery in the United States. He made a 2007 visit to a U.S. clinic for weight loss treatment, and the same year spent more than two weeks in Jordan receiving treatment for exhaustion and dehydration.
The president's role in Iraq is largely ceremonial, but Mr. Talabani, an ethnic Kurd, has used his position to mediate disputes among the country's various ethnic and religious groups. VoA.
The Iraqi Presidency does not have equivalent powers to a US President. In Iraq, the Prime Minister holds primary executive powers, similiar to the United Kingdom or Germany.
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