President of Iraq
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The President of Iraq is Iraq's head of state.
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[edit] Presidents of the Republic of Iraq
For most of the country's history, Iraq's presidents have been authoritarian dictators occupying an office without a clearly designed constitutional structure. Such presidents exercised all power single-handedly, operating only with the consultation of a small cabinet.
| No. | Name | Took Office | Left Office | Political Party |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| * | Muhammad Najib ar-Ruba'i | July 14, 1958 | February 8, 1963 | Military |
| 01 | Abd as-Salam Arif | February 8, 1963 | April 13, 1966 | Military |
| 02 | Abd ar-Rahman al-Bazzaz | April 13, 1966 | April 16, 1966 | Military |
| 03 | Abd ar-Rahman Arif | April 16, 1966 | July 17, 1968 | Military |
| 04 | Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr | July 17, 1968 | July 16, 1979 | Ba'ath Party |
| 05 | Saddam Hussein | July 16, 1979 | April 9, 2003 | Ba'ath Party |
* Head of state as Chairman of the Sovereignty Council, but not technically president.
[edit] Presidents of the Iraq interim governing council
Following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003 an interim council ran Iraq under an American-led occupation authority. The council decided to have a 9-member collective presidency, in which formal chairmanship of the group would rotate on a monthly basis.
| No. | Name | Term in Office | Ethnic Group |
|---|---|---|---|
| * | Mohammed Bahr al-Uloum,(acting) (1st time) | 13 - 31 July 2003 | Shiite Arab |
| * | Ibrahim al-Jaafari | August 2003 | Shiite Arab |
| * | Ahmed Chalabi | September 2003 | Shiite Arab |
| * | Iyad Allawi | October 2003 | Shiite Arab |
| * | Jalal Talabani | November 2003 | Kurdish |
| * | Abdel-Aziz al-Hakim | December 2003 | Shiite Arab |
| * | Adnan Pachachi | January 2004 | Sunni Arab |
| * | Mohsen Abdel Hamid | February 2004 | Sunni Arab |
| * | Mohammed Bahr al-Uloum, (2nd time) | March 2004 | Shiite Arab |
| * | Massoud Barzani | April 2004 | Kurdish |
| * | Ezzedine Salim | May 1, 2004 – May 17, 2004 | Shiite Arab |
| * | Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer | May 17, 2004 – June 28, 2004 | Sunni Arab |
[edit] State Presidents of Iraq
In 2004 the council approved an interim constitution, called the Law of Administration for the State of Iraq for the Transitional Period. Following the transfer of sovereignty to the Iraqi people on June 28, 2004, Iraq's new Head of State is a "President of State", chosen by the elected National Assembly and run the three-person executive Presidency Council. The State President's powers are limited, with most executive authority belonging to the Prime Minister of Iraq.
| No. | Name | Took Office | Left Office | Political Party | Ethnic Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| * | Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer | June 28, 2004 | April 6, 2005 | The Iraqis | Sunni Arab |
| 01 | Jalal Talabani | April 7, 2005 | In Office | Patriotic Union of Kurdistan | Kurdish |
- In May 2004, outgoing council president Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer was chosen by the council to serve as the first Interim Iraqi State President under the Iraqi Interim Government until parliamentary elections could be held.
- On April 6, 2005 Jalal Talabani, the head of the PUK, became the first State President to be properly chosen by the newly-elected National Assembly.
- In April 2006, after the ratification of the new Iraqi Constitution in 2005, Jalal Talabani was elected as President of the Republic of Iraq under the new Constitution, and thus became the first President of the permanent Government established by the new constitutional order.
- During the trial of Saddam Hussein from 2004-2006, Hussein often referred to himself as "Saddam Hussein, President of Iraq", despite the fact he had been overthrown. However, some international law scholars and critics of the U.S. invasion of Iraq argued that under international law, Hussein was still legally the President of Iraq even though he no longer was in power. Under international law, a head of state can lose his position only by actions undertaken by the indigenous people of that nation; e.g. defeat in a popular election, or a military coup. Since the Iraqi people did not take action against Hussein or demand his resignation as did the Indonesian people with Suharto in 1998, it was not considered valid that he lost his status. Hussein's removal from office was a result of the US invasion, which may also be questionable under international law as to its legitimacy.
