Nouri Maliki gradually gained the support of parliament's smaller factions
Iraq's main parties have agreed to form a government, ending eight months of deadlock since elections in March, says the official brokering the talks.
Kurdish regional president Masoud Barzani called the deal a "national partnership". He said Nouri Maliki, a Shia, would remain as prime minister, while the main Sunni faction get the Speaker's post. Its leader, Iyad Allawi, will head a council for national strategy.
The Kurds will get the presidency.
On Wednesday, the parties reached a deal to keep Mr Maliki as prime minister after he gained the support of the Sunni coalition led by former PM Allawi.
The agreement is said to provide checks and balances against the abuse of power by any one group, says the BBC's Jim Muir in Baghdad. The US said the reported deal was a "big step forward".
Mr Maliki's opponents said Shia-dominated Iran was playing a major persuasive role behind the scenes, our correspondent reports.
Analysis 
The focus is very much on this new body, called the National Council for Strategic Policy.
It is being offered to Iyad Allawi, the challenger who has lost ground to Mr Maliki over the past few months.
Whether he will personally accept it is still unclear at the moment, but his coalition should be allocated the council under this division of power.
The question is, will that body turn out to be an effective power-sharing instrument whereby they can influence policy, especially in the realms of security.
That issue is Mr Allawi's main concern and of some other people who believe Mr Maliki went a bit out on his own on a lot of security issues in the past four years.
It is being offered to Iyad Allawi, the challenger who has lost ground to Mr Maliki over the past few months.
Whether he will personally accept it is still unclear at the moment, but his coalition should be allocated the council under this division of power.
The question is, will that body turn out to be an effective power-sharing instrument whereby they can influence policy, especially in the realms of security.
That issue is Mr Allawi's main concern and of some other people who believe Mr Maliki went a bit out on his own on a lot of security issues in the past four years.
Mr Allawi's bloc will also get the foreign ministry. The presidency of the republic is expected to be retained by the current incumbent, Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani.
Once parliament convenes, it is expected to begin by electing its own Speaker and his deputies.The chamber will then elect the president of the republic who will in turn invite the biggest parliamentary coalition, Mr Maliki's, to nominate its candidate to try to form a government.
He would then have a month to try to put an administration together.
However, with a deal in place, events are likely to move swiftly, our correspondent says.
The tide turned for Mr Maliki in early October when the militant young Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr announced that the 40 or so seats he controls in the new parliament would back the incumbent for a second term.
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