The Prime Minister of Iraq is the head of government of Iraq. On 27 October 2022,Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani became the incumbent prime minister.
Ja'far Pasha al-Askari was an Iraqi politician who served twice as Prime Minister of Iraq in 1923–1924 and again in 1926–1927.
Barzan Ibrahim Hassan al-Tikriti,also known as Barazan Ibrahim al-Tikriti,Barasan Ibrahem Alhassen and Barzan Hassan,was one of three half-brothers of Saddam Hussein,and a leader of the Mukhabarat,the Iraqi intelligence service. Despite falling out of favour with Saddam at one time,he was believed to have been a close presidential adviser at the time of his capture by U.S. forces. On 15 January 2007,Barzan was hanged for crimes against humanity. He was decapitated by the hangman's rope after errors were made calculating his body weight and length of drop from the platform.
The Iraqi Governing Council (IGC) was the provisional government of Iraq from 13 July 2003 to 1 June 2004. It was established by and served under the United States-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). The IGC consisted of various Iraqi political and tribal leaders who were appointed by the CPA to provide advice and leadership of the country until the June 2004 transfer of sovereignty to the Iraqi Interim Government.
Haider Jawad Kadhim al-Abadi is an Iraqi politician who was Prime Minister of Iraq from September 2014 until October 2018. Previously he served as Minister of Communication from 2003 to 2004,in the first government after Saddam Hussein was deposed.
Sulṭān Hāshim Aḥmad Muḥammad al-Ṭāʾī was an Iraqi military commander,who served as Minister of Defense under Saddam Hussein's regime. Considered one of Iraq's most competent military commanders,he was appointed to the position in 1995. During his over 30 year military career,Sultan commanded two brigades,three divisions,and two corps of regular army corps before assuming responsibilities as Minister of Defense.
Lloyd James Austin III is a retired United States Army four-star general who is serving as the 28th United States secretary of defense since January 22,2021. Before retiring from the military in 2016,Austin served as the 12th commander of United States Central Command (CENTCOM),beginning in March 2013. Prior to that he served as the 33rd vice chief of staff of the Army from January 2012 to March 2013,and as commander of United States Forces –Iraq from September 2010 to December 2011. He was the first African American to hold each of these positions. After retiring from the armed services Austin joined the boards of Raytheon Technologies,Nucor,Tenet Healthcare,and Auburn University. On December 7,2020,he was nominated for defense secretary by then-President-elect Joe Biden. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on January 22,2021,by a vote of 93–2.
Abu Ayyub al-Masri,also known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir,born Abdel Moneim Ezz El-Din Ali Al-Badawi,was the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq during the Iraqi insurgency,following the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in June 2006. He was war minister of the Islamic State of Iraq from 2006 to 2010 and prime minister of the Islamic State of Iraq from 2009 to 2010. He was killed during a raid on his safehouse on 18 April 2010.
The Ministry of Interior (MOI) is the government body charged with overseeing policing and border control in Iraq. The MOI comprises several agencies,including the Iraqi Police,Highway Patrol,Traffic Department,Emergency Response Unit,Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit,and Department of Border Enforcement. Following passage of the Facilities Protection Service Reform Law,the Ministry absorbed FPS personnel previously spread among other ministries. The MOI has approximately 380,430 employees,and the Ministry of Finance approved US$3.8 billion for its 2008 budget,representing a 21% growth over the previous year.
The Ministry of Defence is the Iraqi government agency responsible for defence of Iraq. It is also involved with internal security.
Ali Habib Mahmud was a Syrian military officer who served as Syria's minister of defense from June 2009 to August 2011. As one of Syria's most celebrated generals,he was part of President Bashar al-Assad's inner circle.
The Republic of Kuwait was a short-lived and self-styled republic formed in the aftermath of the invasion of Kuwait by Ba'athist Iraq during the early stages of the Gulf War. During the invasion,the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council stated that it had sent troops into the State of Kuwait to assist an internal coup d'état initiated by "Kuwaiti revolutionaries." A Provisional Government of Free Kuwait was set up on 4 August 1990 by the Iraqi authorities under the leadership of nine allegedly-Kuwaiti military officers led by Alaa Hussein Ali,who was given the posts of prime minister,commander-in-chief,minister of defense and minister of the interior.
Khaled Yassin al-Obaidi is an Iraqi politician who served as the defense minister of Iraq from 2014 to 2016.
Najah Hassan Ali al-Shammari is an Iraqi politician and military officer who served as the Minister of Defense from June 2019 to May 2020. He holds Swedish citizenship.
A series of demonstrations,marches,sit-ins and civil disobedience took place in Iraq from 2019 until 2021. It started on 1 October 2019,a date which was set by civil activists on social media,spreading mainly over the central and southern provinces of Iraq,to protest corruption,high unemployment,political sectarianism,inefficient public services and foreign interventionism. Protests spread quickly,coordinated over social media,to other provinces in Iraq. As the intensity of the demonstrations peaked in late October,protesters’anger focused not only on the desire for a complete overhaul of the Iraqi government but also on driving out Iranian influence,including Iranian-aligned Shia militias. The government,with the help of Iranian-backed militias responded brutally,using live bullets,marksmen,hot water,hot pepper gas and tear gas against protesters,leading to many deaths and injuries.
On 29 December 2019,the United States conducted airstrikes against Kata'ib Hezbollah's weapons depots and command centers in Iraq and Syria,reportedly killing at least 25 militiamen and wounding 55 more. The U.S. Department of Defense said the operation was in retaliation for repeated attacks on Iraqi military bases hosting Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) coalition forces,particularly the 27 December 2019 attack on a Kirkuk airbase that left an American civilian contractor dead. Kata'ib Hezbollah,an extremist Shi'ite militia funded by Iran,denied any responsibility for the attacks.
On 3 January 2020,Qasem Soleimani,an Iranian major general,was targeted and killed by a U.S. drone strike near the Baghdad International Airport in Iraq while he was on his way to meet Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi.
On 8 January 2020,in a military operation code named Operation Martyr Soleimani,Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched over 12 ballistic missiles at the al-Asad Airbase in Al Anbar Governorate,western Iraq,as well as another airbase in Erbil,in response to the assassination of Major General Qasem Soleimani by a United States drone strike.
Mustafa Abdul Latif Mishatat,known as Mustafa al-Kadhimi,alternatively spelt Mustafa al-Kadhimy,is an Iraqi politician,lawyer and bureaucrat and former intelligence officer who served as the Prime Minister of Iraq from May 2020 to October 2022. He previously served as columnist for several news outlets and the Director of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service,originally appointed in June 2016. He briefly served as Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs in an acting capacity in 2020. The latter part of his tenure closely followed the 2022 Iraqi political crisis.
Abu Yasser al-Issawi was a senior ISIS commander and Iraqi terrorist with the title of deputy caliph,and leader of the ISIS group in Iraq. He was killed in a military strike by Iraqi security forces in Al-Chai Valley,southern Kirkuk. The successful military strike and his death was announced by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi after an intelligence-led operation.
