In the December 2005 Iraqi parliamentary election, the United Iraqi Alliance won the plurality of seats, and nominated Ibrahim al-Jaafari to be Iraq's first full-term post-war prime minister.
In April 2006, amid mounting criticism of ineffective leadership and favoritism by Kurdish and Sunni Arab politicians in parliament, al-Jaafari was forced from power.
On 22 April 2006, following close U.S. involvement in the selection of a new prime minister, al-Maliki's name arose from the four that had been interviewed by the CIA on their connections to Iran (the others including Hussein al-Shahristani and Ali al-Adeeb).
United States Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad said that "[Maliki's] reputation is as someone who is independent of Iran."
Khalilzad also maintained that Iran "pressured everyone for Jaafari to stay".
 However, al-Maliki was the preferred candidate of Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, and it was Soleimani who brokered the deal between senior Shiite and Kurdish leaders that led to his election as Prime Minister.
In the December 2005 Iraqi parliamentary election, the United Iraqi Alliance won the plurality of seats, and nominated Ibrahim al-Jaafari to be Iraq's first full-term post-war prime minister. In April 2006, amid mounting criticism of ineffective leadership and favoritism by Kurdish and Sunni Arab politicians in parliament, al-Jaafari was forced from power. On 22 April 2006, following close U.S. involvement in the selection of a new prime minister, al-Maliki's name arose from the four that had been interviewed by the CIA on their connections to Iran (the others including Hussein al-Shahristani and Ali al-Adeeb). United States Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad said that "[Maliki's] reputation is as someone who is independent of Iran." Khalilzad also maintained that Iran "pressured everyone for Jaafari to stay".  However, al-Maliki was the preferred candidate of Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, and it was Soleimani who brokered the deal between senior Shiite and Kurdish leaders that led to his election as Prime Minister.
Nouri al-Maliki