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99-522: With 2,849,612 votes (24.7%) and 91 seats the Iraqiya List became the biggest list in the elections, winning two seats more than Nouri al-Maliki 's State of Law Coalition , which won 89 seats and 2,792,083 votes (24.2%). In the 2010 parliamentary election the coalition consisted of the following parties: Following the election the party was beset by political infighting in the post election period, with 8 MPs leaving in early March 2011 in order to set up

198-482: A violent conflict which started in 1961 after Qassim was unable to fulfill his promise of Kurdish national rights. Furthermore, his implementation of land reforms and reforms regarding family law undermined the power of religious leaders and landlords, meaning that tension between his regime and religious leaders increased. These tensions, along with disagreement within the government on whether to pursue an Iraqi nationalist or Pan-Arabist agenda, eventually resulted in

297-476: A welfare state : citizens throughout the country benefitted from economic advancement, rising incomes and social mobility, regardless of their ethnic, tribal or religious background. This links to the second strategy which was to de-emphasize sectarian identity. Ba'ath ideology can be categorized as a Pan-Arabist ideology with a clear socialist component. In line with this ideology, the Iraqi Ba'ath Party advocated

396-520: A Sunni Arab as king: Faisal I of Iraq . Zoe Preston states that this decision to back Sunni Arab political leadership, despite being a minority in Iraq, created an exclusion of other religious and ethnic groups. With the state of Iraq granted independence in 1932, the struggle to create an Iraqi national identity became more apparent. Although Faisal I repeatedly tried to bring cultural values and practices of Shi'ites, Sunnis and other populations together within

495-504: A bloodless coup in 1968 , the Ba’ath Party seized power for the second time in a decade. With the resurrection of power to the Ba’ath Party, Iraq entered a new stage of nation-building . This included two main strategies of cultivating national identity under Ba’ath rule throughout the 1970s and 80s. The first strategy was to enhance social integration through the success of state-sponsored development programs, which were made possible by

594-692: A brief biography on the Islamic Dawa Party's website, he left Iraq via Jordan in October, and soon moved to Syria , adopting the pseudonym "Jawad". He left Syria for Iran in 1982, where he lived in Tehran until 1990, before returning to Damascus where he remained until U.S.-led coalition forces invaded Iraq and toppled Saddam's regime in 2003 . While living in Syria, he worked as a political officer for Dawa, developing close ties with Hezbollah and particularly with

693-429: A defeat, but of a victory, of a severe blow we have inflicted on Al Qaeda and the militias." He said U.S. negotiators were coming around to his point of view. Hillary Clinton and Carl Levin were two of several U.S. politicians who called for him to be removed from office in 2007. Senator Clinton urged Iraq's parliament to select a "less divisive and more unifying figure" and implied she felt al-Maliki

792-509: A focus on an Iraqi nationalist identity with no room for sectarian affiliations. As a result, the party downplayed any religious affiliations and instead pursued a secular, nationalist Iraq. Later, under the leadership of Saddam Hussein , this nationalist Iraq was to be based on a common Mesopotamian past in order to incorporate both the Shi'ite and Kurdish population into the project of nationalist state-building. In line with its nationalist nature,

891-506: A hit squad killing Shiite politicians, and his arrest was warranted. This led to his Sunni/Shia Iraqiyya party (with 91 seats the largest party in parliament) boycotting parliament, which lasted until late January 2012. Hashemi was in September 2012 in absentia sentenced to death but had already fled to Turkey, which declared it will not extradite him to Iraq. This affair fueled Sunni Muslim and Kurdish resentment against Maliki who critics said

990-465: A law which prohibited al-Maliki from running for a third term but an Iraqi court later rejected it. By August 2014, al-Maliki lost all his chances to win a third term in office. On 8 September 2014, during approval of the new government led by Haider al-Abadi , al-Maliki was named one of the three vice presidents, a prestigious albeit largely ceremonial post. On 11 August 2015, the Parliament approved

1089-549: A major realignment of Sunni Arab public opinion away from armed opposition groups and to the Iraqi government, since many Iraqi Sunni Arabs were optimistic that the new government would address their grievances and deliver more public goods and services to them than the government led by al-Maliki. In an interview published by the German magazine Der Spiegel in June 2008, al-Maliki said that

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1188-553: A more sectarian and violent trajectory and were members of the Ba'ath Party . In order to appease these elements, loyalties of communalism and sectarianism were thus restored under Arif's presidency, as well as the political power of Sunni Arab nationalists. Sectarian policies thus remained in place and further enhanced sectarian and inter-communal tensions. Within this tense atmosphere, different officers and cliques planned military coups to overthrow Arif's rule and seize power. Eventually, in

1287-457: A public campaign to undermine the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki". The network described BGR as a "powerhouse Republican lobbying firm with close ties to the White House". CNN also mentioned that Ayad Allawi is both al-Maliki's rival and BGR's client, although it did not assert that Allawi had hired BGR to undermine al-Maliki. In late 2014, Vice President Al-Maliki accused

1386-470: A reform package by Prime Minister al-Abadi that foresaw, among other measures, the elimination of the three vice president posts. However, following a lawsuit opened by fellow Vice President Usama al-Nujayfi , al-Maliki declared in September 2015 that he was still holding his office because the removal of the post was not in line with the Iraqi Constitution. Osama al-Nujaifi filed a complaint against

1485-650: A result of rising sectarian tensions between the different religious and ethnic groups of Iraq, most notably the conflict between the Shi'i Muslim majority and the Sunni Muslim minority within the country. With the creation of a modern nation-state, sectarian tensions arose slowly and eventually developed into recent violent conflicts such as the War in Iraq (2013–2017) and the Iraqi civil war (2006–2008) . According to most sources, including

1584-528: A rise in both Kurdish nationalism and Sunni insurgency, which has resulted in civil war and the effective failure of the Iraqi state. The reign of al-Maliki has been described as sectarian by both Sunni Iraqis and western analysts; something which helped fuel a Sunni uprising in the country in 2014. During the Northern Iraq offensive , beginning in June 2014, ISIS vowed to take power away from al-Maliki, who called upon Kurdish forces to help keep Iraq out of

1683-401: A schedule for a withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country of "about 16 months ... would be the right time-frame for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes". In the interview, he said the U.S. government has been reluctant to agree to a timetable "because they feel it would appear tantamount to an admission of defeat. But that isn't the case at all ... it is not evidence of

1782-578: A sectarian character. At the same time, the Sunni Arab community, which had dominated the country under Saddam Hussein, was removed from power whereas the Shi'ite Arabs and Kurds rose to power. The new Iraqi Governing Council (ICG) came to be made up according to the country's demographics: 13 Shi'i, 5 Sunni Arabs, 5 Kurds, 1 Christian and 1 Turkman. Within this council, the Sunni community had many problems representing itself and setting its demands. Since many of

1881-588: A senior leader of the Islamic Dawa Party, coordinated the activities of anti-Saddam guerrillas, and built relationships with officials from Iran and Syria , seeking their help in overthrowing Saddam's government. Both during and after the American-led occupation of Iraq (2003–2011), al-Maliki worked closely with the Multi-National Force (MNF–I), and continued to cooperate with the United States following

1980-545: A token of support for the new government. During this visit, they announced the Iraqi Leaders Initiative, in which students from Iraq would go to the United States to build a personal connection between the two countries. On 25 June, al-Maliki presented a national reconciliation plan to the Iraqi parliament. The peace plan sets out to remove powerful militias from the streets, open a dialogue with rebels, and review

2079-564: A wide variety of different ethnic and religious groups which all lived in relative tolerance under Ottoman rule, although the Shi'i community was largely excluded from administrative positions and the army. After the First World War , the population of the three vilayets were unified into one nation-state under the British Mandate . In line with the ‘ Sharifan Solution ’, the British appointed

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2178-452: Is a matter of concern for Washington, D.C. He discussed with Iranian officials, including president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad , the "principle of no interference in internal affairs" during his visit on 11 and 12 September 2006, i.e., political and security issues. His visit closely followed an incident in which Iran detained Iraqi soldiers it accused of having illegally crossed the border. Ibrahim Shaker, Iraqi defence ministry spokesman, said

2277-427: Is a phenomenon that has become common among many of the multinational forces. No respect for citizens, smashing civilian cars and killing on a suspicion or a hunch. It's unacceptable." According to Ambassador Khalilzad, al-Maliki had been misquoted, but it was unclear in what way. The international Committee to Protect Journalists wrote to al-Maliki in June 2006, complaining of a "disturbing pattern of restrictions on

2376-574: Is an Iraqi politician and leader of the Islamic Dawa Party since 2007. He served as the Prime Minister of Iraq from 2006 to 2014 and as Vice President from 2014 to 2015 and again from 2016 to 2018. Al-Maliki began his political career as a Shia dissident opposed to former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in the late 1970s, and rose to prominence after he fled a death sentence and went into exile for 24 years. During his time abroad, he became

2475-461: Is estimated that more than 20,000 civilians were killed in 2006 alone. By the start of 2008, tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians had been killed with about 4 million being displaced. Especially, the capital of Baghdad was hard hit as the city came to be rearranged on a sectarian basis. Former mixed neighbourhoods came to be ruled by sectarian militias who drove out everyone with another sectarian affiliation. Besides sectarian killings by death squads,

2574-564: 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. On 20 May 2006, al-Maliki presented his Cabinet to Parliament, minus permanent ministers of Defense and of Interior. He announced that he would temporarily handle

2673-556: Is the Second Iraqi-Kurdish War which took place in 1974 and 1975, when different Kurdish rebel groups unsuccessfully tried to gain independence in Northern Iraq by initiating riots. During the same period, the Shi'ite Da’wa party gained popularity in Iraq. After its establishment in 1970, party activists initiated different riots, most noteworthy the riots in 1974 and 1977. Because of its military supremacy and resources,

2772-522: The 1975 Algiers Agreement concerning the waterway and was interfering in Iraqi politics. Yet despite these political and economic motivations to go to war, the war was also fought on religious grounds. As Hussein later recalled, Khomeini had believed that the Shi'ite population in Southern Iraq would follow him, but they did not do so and remained loyal to Iraq, fighting the Iranians. In order to prevent

2871-524: The 2013 Iraqi governorate elections , although some members of the Iraqi National Movement contend that the rumours over its internal problems are merely attempts by other parties to undermine it. [REDACTED] Media related to Iraqiya Coalition at Wikimedia Commons Nouri al-Maliki Nouri Kamil Muhammad-Hasan al-Maliki ( Arabic : نوري كامل محمد حسن المالكي ; born 20 June 1950), also known as Jawad al-Maliki ( جواد المالكي ),

2970-562: The First Gulf War , initiated by Hussein when Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990. Coalition forces responded by bombing Iraqi targets, mainly in the southern regions of Iraq. These counterattacks affected particularly Shi'ites, which endowed both casualties and damage to infrastructure. Following the retreat from Kuwait in 1991, uprisings erupted throughout 14 of the 18 provinces in Iraq. The rebels were mainly Shi'ite Arabs and Kurds who attacked

3069-581: The Iranian government , supporting Iran's effort to topple Saddam's regime. While living in Damascus, al-Maliki edited the party newspaper Al-Mawqif and rose to head the party's Damascus branch. In 1990, he joined the Joint Action Committee and served as one of its rotating chairman. The committee was a Damascus-based opposition coalition for a number of Hussein's opponents. The Dawa Party participated in

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3168-656: The Islamic Army in Iraq and the 1920 Revolution Brigades . Until the start of 2005 these sectarian attacks were hardly responded to by the Shi'ite population. Only the Badr Organisation was accused of perpetrating retaliatory attacks on former regime officials and prominent Ba'ath members. With the January 2005 elections, however, members of the Badr Corps infiltrated the security forces and started retaliatory actions against

3267-533: The Islamic Republic of Iran . Khomeini started a propaganda campaign aimed at Shi'ites in Iraq encouraging them to follow the Khomeinist ideology and to revolt against the Sunni dominated regime of Hussein in order to eventually overthrow it. In 1980, Hussein declared war on Iran and tried to annex the oil-rich Iranian Khuzestan province . The reasons for going to war included Hussein's belief that Iran had broken

3366-599: The Revolutionary Command Council , the highest form of authority. Furthermore, the Kurdish population also felt marginalized by the Ba'ath. Towards the end of the 1960s, the Ba'ath Party started an Arabization campaign of Northern Iraq in order to secure the north's loyalty. This meant that many Kurdish families were displaced and replaced with Arab families. An example of clear violent sectarian opposition to such policies

3465-480: The U.S. Congress . Several New York Democrats boycotted the speech after Al-Maliki condemned Israel's attack on Lebanon . Howard Dean , the DNC chairman, accused Al-Maliki of being an "anti-Semite" and said the United States shouldn't spend so much on Iraq and then hand it over to people like al-Maliki. In September 2006, Al-Maliki made his first official visit to neighbouring Iran , whose alleged influence on Iraq

3564-569: The White Iraqiya Bloc . Following the formation of the White Bloc, another 20 members of the Iraqi National Movement announced the formation of a new party within the list, under the name Youth of Iraq , headed by Talal Zobaie . In April 2011, a further 5 MPs left the list in order to found the Free Iraqiya party. The reasons for the many splits within the list were numerous, but some of

3663-602: The renewal, in December 2007, of UN mandate for U.S. operations in Iraq, without Iraqi parliament's approval ?] of the chamber and appointed some of them to cabinet positions. Analysts said the return of the Sunnis was made possible by the security gains under al-Maliki and by apparent progress in negotiations with the United States over American military withdrawal. By late 2008, al-Maliki started to stop transparency efforts by firing inspector generals. He also started using sections of

3762-455: The 1930s. Yet, the government repeatedly managed to knock down the riots and maintain its hegemony. The first official documented attempt to outline sectarian frustrations after the establishment of the Iraqi state came with the Najaf Charter document in 1935. In this 12-point manifesto, a group of Shi'i lawyers expressed their discontent about sectarian discrimination against the majority of

3861-469: The Arabization campaign continued throughout the 1980s. Although the majority of people with a Kurdish background were not subjected to high casualty rates during the war, Hussein saw the activities from Kurdish political groups as a betrayal against his regime and accused them of cross-border military and intelligence cooperation with Iran. The Ba’ath regime punished these activist groups in northern Iraq by

3960-544: The Ba'ath party arrested and some of them killed, in what is known as the Khuld Purge , because he doubted their loyalties. This event set the stage for the next decades in which figures who were suspected of being disloyal to him could face years of imprisonment. Since many of those considered to be enemies or disloyal were of another sectarian background, sectarian tensions increased as well. For example, Kurdish, Shi'ite, and Iranian citizens were being deported out of Iraq with

4059-409: The Ba'ath regime was able to quickly crackdown on such riots with a sectarian character. From the start, the Ba'ath regime had established tight control over Iraq's population. All those considered unloyal, were manoeuvred away, and close allies, often selected on a sectarian basis, were brought in. While the Ba'ath thus propagated national identity and included different ethnic and religious groups in

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4158-479: The Ba’ath party managed to include different ethnic and religious groups in their governmental system after 1968. And while Shi'i Arabs and Kurds did not reach the highest levels of political power, they still managed to reach high levels of influence within the regime. However, with the rising influence of Saddam Hussein during the 1970s, he came to appoint tribal and regional allies to the most influential positions within

4257-668: The CIA's World Factbook , the majority of Iraqis are Shi'i Arab Muslims amounting to around 64% to 69% of the population, whereas Sunni Muslims represent between 32% and 37% of the population. Furthermore, the Sunnis are split ethnically among Arabs , Kurds and Turkmen . Before the creation of the Iraqi state, Iraq's territory belonged to the Ottoman Empire and was divided up into three vilayets (provinces): Baghdad Vilayet (1869–1918), Basra Vilayet (1884–1918) and Mosul Vilayet (1878–1918). Together, these three vilayets were home to

4356-567: The Hussein regime. Due to the bad living conditions in the mountains, over 20,000 of these refugees died during the subsequent months. Although the restoration of Sunni state control and security proved to be a hurdle for the Ba’ath regime, they managed to restore order. In the next decade, Hussein would rely even more on allies of his own family and tribe and those that were loyal to him. Yet, despite Hussein's own renewed sectarian focus, other expressions of sectarian identity were harshly suppressed by

4455-473: The Interior Ministry himself, and Salam al-Zobaie would temporarily act as Defense Minister. "We pray to God almighty to give us strength so we can meet the ambitious goals of our people who have suffered a lot", al-Maliki told the members of the assembly. During his first term, al-Maliki vowed to crack down on insurgents who he called "organized armed groups who are acting outside the state and outside

4554-541: The Iran-Iraq War. Estimates suggest that around 250,000 Iraqis died during the war. These casualties on both Sunni and Shi'ite sides further enhanced rivalry among the different ethnic and religious groups. In addition, many Shi'ite soldiers, officers, and citizens fled the country and sought refuge elsewhere, primarily in Iran and Alawite -dominated Ba'athist Syria . In the north, the displacement of Kurdish people as part of

4653-678: The Iraqi National Congress between 1992 and 1995, withdrawing because of disagreements over who should head it. Upon his return to his native Iraq after the fall of Saddam in April 2003, al-Maliki became the deputy leader of the Supreme National Debaathification Commission of the Iraqi Interim Government , formed to purge former Baath Party officials from the military and government. He was elected to

4752-453: The Shi'ite population and called for the appointment of Shi'i judges and courts in predominantly Shi'ite areas and development projects throughout the country, especially in the south. Although this manifesto was the first effort to present the sectarian elite with political frustrations, aspirations, and demands of the Shi'ites, they remained unheard. After 1932, the Iraqi government kept expanding its bureaucracy, increasing Sunni control over

4851-598: The Shi'ites from joining Iran, Hussein laid more emphasis on the Arabic character of Iraq as opposed to the Persian character of the Iranians. Furthermore, he tried to gain support from citizens with various ethnic backgrounds by making generous contributions to their communities. Examples include financial support to Shi'ite waqfs and the restoring of Imam Ali ’s tomb. Despite these far-reaching efforts to gain support among different sects, sectarian tensions kept rising, mainly due to

4950-469: The Sunni community felt marginalized by both the Coalition forces and the newly Shi'i-dominated government. Since many Sunnis viewed their demise from power as coherent with the Shi'i rise to power, this insurgency came to adopt a sectarian nature as well. Especially with the rise of Al-Qaeda in Iraq , attacks on Shi'i places and people became more common. Other prominent sectarian groups on the Sunni side were

5049-696: The Sunni population. It was at this moment that the Mahdi Army , under leadership of Muqtada al-Sadr , came to be involved in sectarian cleansing as well. These retaliatory attacks led to a cycle of violence which flooded the country in 2006 and 2007. With the February 2006 al-Askari mosque bombing in Samarra , the violence escalated into a civil war which lasted from 2006 until the start of 2008. In this war, sectarian militias engaged in sectarian cleansing activities. Although exact numbers of casualties are uncertain, it

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5148-420: The U.S. embassy to stop working with the company and said: "What happened was a crime. It has left a deep grudge and anger, both inside the government and among the Iraqi people." Maliki's friendly gestures towards Iran have sometimes created tension between his government and the United States but he has also been willing to consider steps opposed by Tehran, particularly while carrying out negotiations with

5247-502: The United States of using ISIL as a pretext to maintain its military presence in Iraq. He stated that "the Americans began this sedition in Syria and then expanded its dimensions into Iraq and it seems that they intend to further stretch this problem to other countries in their future plans." On 13 June 2006, U.S. President George W. Bush paid a visit to Baghdad to meet with al-Maliki and President of Iraq Jalal Talabani , as

5346-402: The United States on a joint-security pact. A June 2008 news report noted that al-Maliki's visit to Tehran seemed to be "aimed at getting Iran to tone down its opposition and ease criticism within Iraq". Al-Maliki said an agreement reached with the U.S. won't preclude good relations with neighbors like Iran. In August 2007, CNN reported that the firm of Barbour, Griffith & Rogers had "begun

5445-572: The armed forces against his political rivals. By October–November 2008, the al-Malki government had witnessed improvements in the security situation in many parts of the country. In Baghdad, a peace deal signed between Muqtada al-Sadr 's Mahdi Army and the government had eased tensions, though sporadic sectarian incidents continued, as did occasional fighting between U.S. forces and Shiite militiamen, particularly in Sadr City . Maliki in May 2009 talked about

5544-616: The bloody overthrowing of the Qassim regime in February 1963, also known as the Ramadan Revolution . After various bloody street battles between primarily the Shi'i working class and Ba'athist militias, a variety of Arab Nationalist army officers, primarily Sunni-affiliated officers, took over power. Of them, the pan-Arabist Abdul Salam Arif became president. However, his power was constantly challenged by members of his cabinet who opted for

5643-565: The community's old leaders were mostly Ba'ath affiliates, they were either arrested or banned from participating in the ICG. In addition, there were no organized Sunni political parties since all political forms of Sunni representation besides the Ba'ath had been harshly suppressed under Hussein. In their rejection of the new political order, most Sunnis decided not to vote in the January 2005 parliamentary elections which resulted in their disenfranchisement in

5742-414: The context of Pan-Arabism , the outcome was a more visible distinction between the ethnic and religious groups of Iraq. Many Shi'i Arabs opposed Pan-Arabism because of their fear for marginalization while many Kurds opposed Pan-Arabism because of their demand for an independent Kurdish state. So on the one hand, Shi'ites, Kurds and other sects refused to give up their cultural values and practices. While on

5841-447: The country with Kalashnikovs and you should help in building it with the use of your pen". Early in his term, al-Maliki was criticized by some for alleged reluctance to tackle Shiite militias. In October 2006, he complained about an American raid against a Shiite militia leader because he said it had been conducted without his approval. Al-Maliki's job was complicated by the balance of power within parliament, with his position relying on

5940-655: The death warrant of Saddam Hussein and declined a stay of execution, saying there would be "no review or delay" in the event. Citing the wishes of relatives of Hussein's victims, he said, "Our respect for human rights requires us to execute him." Hussein's execution was carried out on 30 December 2006 (notably, the first Muslim day of the feast of Eid ul-Adha ). On 2 January 2007, the Wall Street Journal published an interview with al-Maliki in which he said he wished he could end his term before it expires in 2009. In 2007, unnamed U.S. military officers alleged al-Maliki

6039-625: The decision in November 2015, considering it to be against the Constitution. On 10 October 2016, the three posts of Vice Presidents were restored by the Supreme Court of Iraq which termed their abolition as unconstitutional. Al-Maliki is married to Faleeha Khalil, with whom he has four daughters and one son. His son Ahmed was head of Al-Maliki's security, and two of his sons-in-law also worked in his office. On 26 April 2006, al-Maliki stopped using

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6138-486: The education department. His grandfather, Muhammad Hasan Abi al-Mahasin , was a poet and cleric who was the representative of the Revolutionary Council (Al-Majlis Al-Milli) of the Iraqi revolution against the British in 1920, and was Iraq's Minister of Education under King Faisal I . On 16 July 1979, al-Maliki fled Iraq after he was discovered to be a member of the outlawed Islamic Dawa Party . According to

6237-458: The existing political power and their social exclusion under Ba’ath rule. The uprisings were predominantly sectarian in nature with the protesters showing pictures of Shi'ite religious leaders, such as Khomeini, and religious symbols. As researcher and journalist Khalil Osman describes the uprisings: The rebellion in southern Iraq was marked by a vigorous assertion of Shi’ite identity, featuring overtly Shi’ite religious symbolism and rhetoric.… But

6336-453: The first part of the 2013–2017 War in Iraq , Maliki led Iraq through major defeats, including the June 2014 northern Iraq offensive which saw the catastrophic collapse of the Iraqi army in that region and the fall of Mosul , where an army of 1,500 ISIS militants won over 60,000 Iraqi soldiers. A former commander of the Iraqi ground forces, Ali Ghaidan, accused al-Maliki of being the one who issued

6435-471: The five soldiers, one officer and one translator involved had simply been doing "their duty". During his visit al-Maliki called the Islamic Republic of Iran "a good friend and brother". A press conference given by al-Maliki and U.S. President George Bush on 14 December 2008, was disrupted when Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi threw his shoes at Bush. On 26 January 2013 al-Maliki's opponents passed

6534-684: The government, the party was also involved in constructing a tense atmosphere where there was no room for disloyalty or opposition. Under the Ba'ath regime, instances of sectarian violence were quickly crushed. In 1979, Saddam Hussein formally became the president of Iraq after Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr resigned due to health issues. Under Hussein's rule, the system in which citizens, organizations, and parties were monitored intensified in order to prevent losing political dominance over Iraq. Hussein assured full loyalty through extensive monitoring and by getting rid of any potential political opponent. Only six days after his formal installment, Hussein had 66 members of

6633-430: The government. Whereas the Ba'ath party thus tried to emphasise a common national identity at the expense of communal sectarian identities, the policies of building on a small circle of trusted allies by both Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr and his successor Saddam Hussein, caused a rift between the national emphasis of the Ba'ath party and their own communal interests. From the 1970s onwards, sectarian tensions brewed underneath

6732-429: The growth of the Iraqi economy. In the 1970s, the government nationalized Iraq's oil industry and, with the revenues from the export of this oil, Iraq started a project of modernization and nation-building. In addition to investments in infrastructure and industry, the Iraqi government also launched a program to invest in basic public goods such as schools, universities, and hospitals. By doing this, Iraq developed into

6831-446: The hands of ISIS, as well as air support from American drones in order to eliminate dangerous jihadist elements in the country, which was refused by the United States, as "administration spokesmen have insisted that the United States is not actively considering using warplanes or armed drones to strike [jihadist havens]." The announcement of al-Maliki's resignation on 14 August 2014 and the leadership transition to Haider al-Abadi caused

6930-445: The law". He had been criticized for taking too long to name permanent interior and defense ministers, which he did on 8 June 2006, just as al-Maliki and the Americans announced the killing of Al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi . Meanwhile, al-Maliki criticized coalition armed forces as reports of allegedly deliberate killings of Iraqi civilians (at Haditha and elsewhere) became known. He has been quoted as saying, "[t]his

7029-411: The most often cited reasons were that a handful of list members had monopolised power and ignore the thousands of party members, a problem that is exacerbated by the fact that the party has no clear ideology or policies. These rifts have led to possible discussions between State of Law leader Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki , and Saleh al-Mutlaq and Usama al-Nujayfi , of forming an electoral alliance for

7128-639: The motivation of being foreigners, which was often referred to as an act of sectarian cleansing at that time. The sectarian tensions surfaced with the Iranian Revolution and the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War in 1980. In 1979 the Iranian Revolution took place under the leadership of Shi'ite Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini when he ousted the Pahlavi dynasty and paved the way for the establishment of

7227-449: The need to make a secure and sustainable environment for investment in order for successful reconstruction and has enacted new investment laws to try to achieve this. He also acknowledged Iraq's unfortunate reliance on oil to finance reconstruction thus far, although the revenue began to be spent on other possible revenue sources including agriculture and energy. On 22 December 2010, al-Maliki's second government, including all main blocs in

7326-511: The new parliament, was unanimously approved by parliament, 9 months after the 2010 parliamentary election . On 5 February 2011, a spokesperson for al-Maliki said he would not run for a third term in 2014, limiting himself in the name of democracy, in a nod to the Arab Spring . On 19 December 2011, the Vice President of Iraq, Tariq al-Hashemi , was accused of orchestrating bombing attacks and

7425-579: The newly formed government. Instead, the United Iraqi Alliance , made up of the two Shi'i parties Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) and Da'wa , obtained a major victory. Being dissatisfied with the Occupation of Iraq by the Multi-National Force , an insurgency arose from the summer of 2003 onwards. This insurgency was most intense in the Sunni provinces because

7524-442: The order to withdraw from the city of Mosul. By late June, the Iraqi government had lost control of its borders with both Jordan and Syria . al-Maliki called for a national state of emergency on 10 June following the attack on Mosul, which had been seized overnight. However, despite the security crisis, Iraq's parliament did not allow Maliki to declare a state of emergency; many Sunni Arab and Kurdish legislators boycotted

7623-529: The other hand, the Sunnis in power tried to abolish these values and practices in cohesion with Pan-Arabism. Eventually, this led to a clearer consolidation of the different communities which resulted in the enhancement of division among Iraq's population. Kurds were wary of Arab domination from the central authority in Baghdad. Furthermore, Iraq's independence and the struggle to create a national identity resulted in different unsuccessful tribal uprisings and clashes in

7722-455: The passionate and strident assertion of Shi’ite identity vis-à-vis the despotic Ba’athist state gave rise to fears and feelings of exclusion among Sunnis, which resulted in their loss of sympathy for the rebellion. The uprisings were eventually suppressed by the use of brutal force and extensive violence by the regime such as mass executions of rebels. In the north, many Kurdish citizens felt forced to flee because of their fear for retaliation by

7821-631: The positions of acting Interior Minister, acting Defense Minister, and acting National Security Minister, was approved on 21 December 2010. In the wake of a string of defeats to the Islamic State during their Northern Iraq offensive , American officials said that al-Maliki should give up his premiership. Two months later, on 14 August 2014, he announced his resignation as prime minister. During his eight years in power from 2006 to 2014, allegations of corruption were widespread, with hundreds of billions of dollars allegedly vanishing from government coffers. He

7920-691: The post. Nouri al-Maliki was born in the village of Janaja in Abu Gharaq, a central Iraqi town situated between Karbala and Al Hillah . He is a member of the Al-Ali Tribe , an offshoot of the Bani Malik tribe. He attended school in Al Hindiyah ( Hindiya ). Al-Maliki received his high school degree from Hindiya city and moved to Baghdad with his family. Al-Maliki lived for a time in Al Hillah , where he worked in

8019-407: The press" and of the "imprisonment, intimidation, and censorship of journalists". His relationship with the press was often contentious. On 24 August 2006, for example, he banned television channels from broadcasting images of bloodshed in the country and warned of legal action against those violating the order. Major General Rashid Flayah, head of a national police division added "...We are building

8118-589: The pseudonym Jawad which he had used since moving to Syria in the early 1980s. However, the pseudo- or code name ( Kunya ) "Abu Esraa" (father of Esraa – his eldest daughter) is still occasionally heard on Iraqi satellite media, because it is very common in Arab culture (and in Iraqi culture in particular) to call someone by his eldest child's name, especially among his close friends and followers. Sectarian violence in Iraq Sectarian violence in Iraq developed as

8217-419: The regime during the 1990s. Besides different assassinations on influential political and religious figures, widespread sectarian violence in Iraq only erupted again after the removal of Hussein from office in 2003 following the U.S.-led invasion. Following the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and the toppling of Saddam Hussein, the country slowly descended into a sectarian civil war. This rise in sectarian tensions

8316-404: The session because they opposed expanding the prime minister's powers. By August 2014 al-Maliki was still holding on to power tenaciously despite Iraq's president Fuad Masum nominating Haidar al-Abadi to take over. Al-Maliki referred the matter to the federal court claiming the president's nomination was a "constitutional violation". He said: "The insistence on this until the end is to protect

8415-467: The state's machinery. Although greater control of the government meant fewer uprisings and rioting, sectarian tensions among the Iraqi population kept growing. These sectarian tensions were supplemented with a very stark unequal wealth distribution between the urban elite and the rural population. These different tensions eventually resulted in the 14 July Revolution of 1958 in which the Hashemite monarchy

8514-527: The state." On 14 August 2014, however, in the face of growing calls from world leaders and members of his own party the embattled prime minister Al-Maliki announced he was stepping down. Maliki's critics assert that he did his utmost to limit the power of both Kurds and Sunnis between 2006 and 2014. Their view is that Maliki worked to further centralise governance and amass greater controls and power—from militarily to legislative—for his party. Instead of strengthening and securing Iraq, Maliki's actions have led to

8613-402: The status of purged members of the once dominant Ba'ath party. Some viewed this as a bold step towards rebuilding Iraq and reaching out to Sunnis. By July 2006, when al-Maliki visited the United States, violence had continued and even escalated, leading many to conclude that the reconciliation plan was not working or was moving too slowly. On 26 July 2006, al-Maliki addressed a joint meeting of

8712-480: The support of two Shiite blocs, that of Muqtada al-Sadr and the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council of Abdul Aziz al-Hakim , that his Dawa party has often been at odds with. Progress was also frequently blocked by Sunni Arab politicians who alleged that the dominant Shiite parties were pursuing sectarian advantage. Al-Maliki had some success in finding compromise. On 30 December 2006, al-Maliki signed

8811-427: The surface and sectarian opposition and violence began to occur and were at times highly vocal. Primarily a vast majority of the Shi'ites were discontent about their governmental exclusion. Although the Ba'ath propagated the abolishment of sectarian ideologies and the inclusion of different sects in the military and other governmental institutions, by 1977 only Sunni tribal figures close to Hussein maintained positions in

8910-553: The transitional National Assembly in January 2005. He was a member of the committee that drafted the new constitution that was passed in October 2005. 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

9009-461: The use of extensive violence in the Al-Anfal Campaign at the end of the 1980s. This use of extreme violence caused a high number of casualties estimated to be around 150,000 to 200,000 deaths and echoed further into the Kurdish community, contributing to a stronger sentiment of sectarian division. In the aftermath of the Iran-Iraq War, sectarian distrust exploded and became more visible during

9108-673: The withdrawal from Iraq. Three years after the 2003 invasion of Iraq , al-Maliki became the country's first post-Saddam full-term prime minister after he was appointed to the position by the MNF–I's leading American authority Michael Douglas Barbero . The first-term al-Maliki administration succeeded the Iraqi Transitional Government ; his first cabinet was approved by the Iraqi National Assembly and formally sworn in on 20 May 2006. His second cabinet, in which he also held

9207-443: Was criticized by American officials and by local Iraqis for empowering Shia militias, for his close ties with Iranian government/military officials, and for fuelling Iraqi sectarian violence by favouring Shia political/military figures over Kurds and Sunni Arabs as well as other non-Shia minorities . In September 2014, al-Maliki was elected as one of three of Iraq's vice presidents, an office he held despite attempts to abolish

9306-458: Was forced to resign 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

9405-456: Was monopolizing power. Al-Maliki lead Iraq through an increase in anti-Sunni violence, including the bloody crack-down on the 2012–2013 Sunni protests , which has been interpreted as leading to the rise of ISIS. The military under the al-Maliki administration was known for its corruption and was plagued with ghost soldiers , a corruption scheme with soldiers names on the pay rolls but not actually in service. When ISIS increased its activity in

9504-474: Was overthrown by a group of army officers under the leadership of General Abd al-Karim Qasim who then founded the Republic of Iraq . Having a mixed Sunni-Shi'i background, General Abd al-Karim Qasim abolished the practice of limiting Shi'ites and peoples with other ethnic backgrounds into the military. Although this measure made him partly popular, sectarian tensions with the Kurdish population of Iraq developed into

9603-488: Was replacing Iraqi commanders who had cracked down on Shiite militias with party loyalists. An al-Maliki spokesman denied the allegation. In May 2007, the Islamic Dawa Party removed Jaafari and elected al-Maliki as Secretary-General of the Dawa Party. In July 2008, al-Maliki, who earlier in the year fought off a recall effort in parliament, convinced Sunni politicians to end a year-long boycott [possibly in relation to

9702-580: Was the result of a multiplicity of factors. First of all, the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), under leadership of Paul Bremer , started a campaign of de-Ba'athification and dissolved the Iraqi military and security . These two measures caused great unemployment, especially among the Sunni population of the country. Furthermore, the disbanding of the security forces led to high levels of criminality. In order to protect themselves, many Iraqi civilians joined or paid militias, mostly with

9801-638: Was too concerned about Iraq's Shiite majority and not enough with national reconciliation. "During his trip to Iraq last week, Senator Levin ... confirmed that the Iraqi government is nonfunctional and cannot produce a political settlement because it is too beholden to religious and sectarian leaders", she said. Al-Maliki hit back and said the Democratic senators were acting as if Iraq were "their property" and that they should "come to their senses" and "respect democracy". After 17 Iraqis were shot and killed by Blackwater USA security guards al-Maliki called on

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