Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki Born in 1950 in the village of Jenaja close to al-Hilla in Karbala province. Grandfather, Mohammed Hassan al-Maliki, was a well-known poet who served as Minister of Education from 1923-1924 Holds an MA in Arabic from the University of Salahaddin in Sulaymaniyah Formerly employed at the Ministry of Education A member of Al-Da'wah Party since 1968 Left Iraq in 1980 after Saddam Hussein banned Al-Da'wah Party; later he was sentenced to death in absentia Moved to Iran where he acted against the Iraqi regime Head of the Jihadist Current within Al-Da'wah Party Moved to Syria after he refused to cooperate with the Iranian intelligence against the Iraqi Army during the Iran-Iraq War Head of the Al-Da'wah Party's offices in Syria and Lebanon Former chief editor of Al-Mawqif newspaper, the mouthpiece of Al-Da'wah Party Member of the political bureau of Al-Da'wah Party Said to enjoy good relations with most former Iraqi opposition parties Is said to represent the Arab identity of Al-Da'wah Party Took up a number of positions after the fall of the regime: head of the Defense Committee at the Iraqi National Assembly; spokesman for the Iraqi Unified Coalition; member of the Sovereignty Committee at the National Assembly; Deputy Chair of High-Commission for De-Ba’athfication An advocate of Kurdish demands to normalize matters in Kirkuk Deputy Prime Minister - Dr. Rafi' Al-Issawi Deputy Prime Minister - Dr. Rafi' Al-Issawi 1984-1990: Attended the Medical School at the University of Baghdad. Obtained degree in Islamic Jurisprudence. 1999: Obtained a Diploma in Orthopedics from Basrah University. Speaks English Fluently. Former State Minister for Foreign Affairs. Former Acting Minister of Health. Former Director of Health in Al-Fallujah District. Member of the Iraqi Medical Association. 1993-1994: Former Medical Doctor in the Iraqi Army 1990-1993: Resident Doctor at Al-Ramadi General Hospital. Deputy Prime Minister - Dr. Barham Salih Deputy Prime Minister - Dr. Barham Salih Born in As-Sulamaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan in 1960 Affiliated with PUK, a member party of the Democratic Patriotic Alliance of Kurdistan. Joined the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) under the leadership of Jalal Talabani. Was arrested many times during the Saddam Hussein regime. Fled Iraq in 1979 and became spokesperson for the PUK in London. . Holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil and Structural Engineering from Cardiff University. Holds a PhD in statistics & computer modeling from Liverpool University. Worked as an engineering consultant in the UK. Represented the PUK and the KRG (Kurdistan Regional Government) in the USA for 10 years after 1991. Prime Minister of the PUK region of northern Iraq since February 2001 Deputy to the Iraqi Prime Minister Dr Ayad Alawi in 2004. Minister of Planning in the Iraqi Transitional Government. Nominated Deputy Prime Minister in May 2006 Appointed by PM Maliki to Chair Economic Affairs Committee in June 2006 and has championed economic development initiatives for Iraq’s reconstruction President Jalal Talabani President Jalal Talabani Born in 1933 Started his political career at the age of 13 as a founding member of the Kurdistan Students' Association and then at the age of 14 joined the Kurdistan Democratic Party [KDP] in 1947 Chosen in 1951 as a member of the KDP's central committee Obtained his BA in law in 1959 from University of Baghdad Chief editor of two local Kurdish newspapers in the late 1950s Participated in the Kurdish revolution against former president Abd-al-Karim Qasim and rose in the ranks of the Kurdish peshmerga from 1960-1964 Head of the Kurdish delegation to the 1963 talks with the Iraqi Government under the reign of Abd al-Salam Arif Defected from the KDP in 1964 as a result of differences with KDP's leader Mustafa Barzani In 1966 Talabani and a number of former KDP members allied with the central government to launch a military campaign against the KDP Co-founded the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan [PUK] in 1975, a secular and socialist entity which is currently believed to have around 25,000 fighters In 1976 the PUK began military action against the central government Responded to a call by former president Saddam Hussein to begin peace talks in the midst of the in the Iran-Iraq War, which ended up being unsuccessful Fled to Iran in 1988 following the chemical attack launched by the Iraqi Government against the Kurds The KDP and PUK had various conflicts and truces in the aftermath of Persian Gulf War of 1991and during the period of a enforced No-Fly Zone over Iraqi Kurdistan In 1998 the KDP and PUK came to sign a peace treaty in Washington following extensive US and British mediation. After the fall of Baghdad in March 2003, Talabani became a member of the Iraqi Governing Council Is said to have "very friendly" relations with grand Shiite figure Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and Abd al-Aziz al-Hakim, head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq Known for his stance against the death penalty Has maintained that the multinational forces should remain in Iraq as any premature pullback would lead to "a disaster" Has called for allowing armed groups to become involved in the political process Elected President of Iraq' on April 6 2005, but expressed dissatisfaction with his presidential powers and demanded more Talabani calls for federalism in Iraq Is known to support democracy, inter-ethnic harmony, equality and women's rights Vice President Adil Abd al-Mahdi Deputy President Adil Abd al-Mahdi Born in An-Nasiriya in 1942 and grew up in Baghdad Son of the Minister of Education during the reign of King Faysal I in the 1920s Earned a degree in Economics from College of Trade and Economics in Baghdad in 1959 Left Iraq after he was sentenced to death because of his political activity Studied for Master’s degrees in political science and economics in France from 1968-1972 Worked for a number of research centers in France, including the French Institute for Islamic Studies; Chief editor of several Arab and French-speaking newspapers and author of a number of books Said that he was widely influenced by the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran and was a co-founder of SCIRI in the 1980s in Iran; SCIRI's representative in Kurdistan 1992 - 1996 Played a key role in talks to write off Iraqi debts following the fall of the regime Assumed post of Minister of Finance in the Allawi-led cabinet Selected as vice president following the January 2005 elections as a representative of the Shiite slate; re-elected vice president following the December 2005 elections Considered the second most important figure at the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq [ISCI] Known to have adopted several political ideologies at different times: Ba'athism, a Maoist Marxism, an Islamism, and liberal economics He also believes that the US troops should not withdraw from Iraq except when "there is no security vacuum and furthermore when Iraqi potentials are solid enough to provide the Iraqis with security." An advocate of federalism which he says represents "the perfect solution for Iraq." Is said to represent a strong secular current within the Unified Iraqi Alliance and promotes a version of political Islam that is more moderate than the Iranian model Believes that the Shiite religious authority should have a role to play in running the affairs of the country, but should also allow democratic policies to participate A strong supporter of a market-oriented economy as well as of decentralization Is said to enjoy good relations with US National Security members Says that he was influenced by the biographies of Ghandi, Winston Churchill, and Al-Khumayni Lost a brother, who was an advisor to the Iraqi Prime Minister, in an attack in October 2005 Has four children all of whom are French citizens Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi Deputy President Tariq al-Hashimi Born in Baghdad in 1942 Grandson of a former general in the Ottoman Army, and nephew of King Ghazi's tutor Attended the military academy between 1959 - 1962 and finished his military career as an instructor at the academy in 1975 In 1969 he obtained a BA in economics at Al-Mustansiriyah University and an MA in economics in 1978 from the UniversityBaghdad of Joined the Iraq Islamic Party after he left the military and has publicly stated that he never joined the Ba’th Party Manager of the Iraq branch of the Arab Shipping Co [ASC] from 1979 – 1981 Moved to Kuwait where he was appointed ASC's Director General until 1990 when he had to return to Iraq after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait . A member of the planning committee and the Shura council of the Iraqi Islamic Party until he was elected secretary general in June 2004 Became a leading figure of the Al-Tawafuq [Accord] Front, a bloc comprising three leading Sunni parties Assumed post of Vice President after the wins of the Al-Tawafuq Front in the general elections in 2005 Rejects a federalist system for Iraq because he says it would divide the country In April 2006, he lost his brother and his sister in two separate attacks in Baghdad Speaker of the Iraqi Council of Represntatives Mahmoud al-Mashhadani Speaker of the House Mahmoud al-Mashhadani Full name is Mahmud Dawud Salman Musa Zurayr al-Mashhadani Born in Al-Kadhimiyah District of Baghdad Graduated from Faculty of Medicine at Baghdad University in 1972 Joined the military as a physician and rose through the ranks to become a Major In I980, three months after the outbreak of the Iraq-Iran war, he was arrested by Saddam Hussein’s government for opposing the Iran-Iraq War with a group of his companions who were activists in the Islamic current Sentenced to two years of prison for promoting ideas against the public trend as well as against the Ba'th Party and the Revolutionary Command Council [RCC] He was released from jail after a year and a half for good conduct. However, he was dismissed from the army, all assets confiscated, and was banned from traveling. After the travel ban against him was lifted, he traveled to Kurdistan, where he says he met with the Islamic movement figures, led by Shaykh Ali Abd-al-Aziz. He was re-arrested in 2000 and sentenced to death for acts of disturbance, but the sentence was commuted to 15 years of imprisonment because the head of the Revolutionary Court could not find hard evidence that he committed a crime punishable by death. He spent two years in prison only because he was released in "the year of amnesty." A co-founder of the Higher Council for Call and Guidance and head of its political bureau A co-founder of the Iraqi National Dialogue Council [NDC], which contributed to the establishment of the Iraqi Front for National Dialogue He was nominated as Speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representatives as part of a deal on government posts between the IAF, UIA and Kurdistan Alliance and was unanimously elected on April 22, 2006. First Deputy Speaker Khalid al-Atiya Deputy Speaker Khalid al-Atiya Born in 1949 in al-Qadisiyah district of Baghdad Finished secondary education in Baghdad in 1970, and continued religious studies in the Al-Najaf hawza where he studied under Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr and Al-Sayyid Abu-al-Qasim al-Khu'i. Arrested during the regime of Saddam Hussein in 1972, 1974, and 1975. Immigrated to Egypt in 1979, and in 1980 obtained a Diploma in literary studies from the Dar al-'Ulum Faculty, CairoUniversity; received a Masters degree in literary studies in 1985; and a Diploma in literary studies from the Saint JosephUniversity in Lebanon. He traveled to Lebanon, Latin America, Iran and the United Kingdom where he worked at various religious, cultural, and academic endeavors. Head of the Department of Islamic Studies at the Oxford Academy for Higher Education from 2000 to 2004 Returned to Iraq after the fall of the regime and became a key political leader for the UIA in Parliament Nominated to Deputy Speakership of the Council of Representatives on April 22, 2006 Second Deputy Speaker Arif Tayfur Deputy Speaker Arif Tayfur Descends from the family of Sadiq al-Sarqalu, one of the notables of the Barzanja Tribe Born in 1945 in Al-Sulaymaniyah Completed his secondary education in Al-Sulaymaniyah, where he studied law and graduated in 1971 Became a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party [KDP] in Baghdad after his graduation He was affiliated with the Kurdistan Students Union in 1958 and became member of the KDP in 1963; joined the Kurdish revolution in 1973. After the revolution he went to Iran and worked on rearranging the leadership of the revolution and the KDP A leading member of the KDP where he worked at the KDP Political Bureau until 2000 After the fall of the regime, he came to Baghdad and became head of the KDP branch in Baghdad Member of the Iraqi National Assembly and deputy speaker Minister of Defense Abdul Qadir Mohammed Jasim Born in 1947 in Baghdad Graduate of Military College 1969 – worked in armored division until assuming post of Armored Division Commander Commander of armored brigade during Iran-Iraq war Opposed invasion of Kuwait in 1991 and was stripped of all posts and responsibilities, and referred to retirement in 1992, Arrested and tried by special court martial in 1994; sentenced to seven years imprisonment with all properties confiscated; personal house was returned after coalition toppling of regime in 2003 Participated in the new Iraqi army as head of the ground forces Currently unaffiliated with any political party Minister of Interior Jawad al-Bolani Minister of Interior Jawad al-Bolani Born in Baghdad 1960 with family ties to Diwaniya 1984 Graduate of Mechanical Engineering Department Baghdad’s Institute of Technology Worked as an Engineer in the Iraqi Air Force from 1984 until 1999 where he retired with the rank Colonel to pursue business ventures. 2004-2004 was member of the Governing Council Chaired Water Committee in Transitional National Assembly in 2005 Politically independent Minister of State for National Security Shirwan al-Waili Minister of State for National Security Shirwan al-Waili Born in An-Nasiriya in 1957 Graduate of Military Engineering College 1979 Worked in the Military Works Division building military camps and other military construction missions, but did not participate in any military operations Was detained during the 1991 Shi’a uprising Retired as Brig. Gen. in 2000 Studied Law at Basra University Acting member of the Governing Council from 2003-2004 Served as an Advisor for regional affairs for the National Security Portfolio Served as member of the Constitutional Committee in the Transitional National Assembly Won a seat in the Council of Representatives in 2005 and resigned to take post as Minister of State for National Security in June 2006 Politically independent |