Interim Leaders Named In Iraq

A brief biography of Yawar distributed by the occupation authority stated that he studied at Georgetown University, but Laura Cavender, a university spokeswoman, could not confirm that he ever attended the school.

Brahimi, a former foreign minister of Algeria, was convinced that Pachachi, a diplomat who had been active in the exiled opposition to Hussein, would make a better president. Despite Yawar's support in the council, the U.N. envoy regarded Pachachi as more popular among other groups of Iraqis. "He was the top choice," an official involved in the process said. "He had much more support among the public at large."

After lengthy negotiations with Yawar, Allawi, other Iraqis and U.S. officials, Brahimi decided to offer the presidency to Pachachi. But when he formally conveyed the offer on Tuesday morning, Pachachi demurred.

"The president should be a force for unity, not division," Pachachi said.

Less than a half-hour later, Brahimi offered the job to Yawar, who immediately accepted. Asked about the contest between himself and Pachachi, Yawar said: "It was in a very friendly team spirit."

U.N. and U.S. officials said Brahimi did not offer the job to Pachachi with the expectation he would turn it down, although there were indications over the weekend that Pachachi was having second thoughts. "There was a hope he would accept," the official involved in the process said. "We didn't know for sure what he would say until the very end."

A senior Bush administration official in Baghdad said the U.S. government did not push for one candidate over the other. "We didn't lobby anybody," the official said. "We thought either one of them would make a fine president of Iraq."

Staff writer Robin Wright in Washington contributed to this report.