Ali Fadel

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Ali Fadel is the former Governor of Baghdad Province. Mr Fadel was elected to office by the Baghdad Provincial Council (which he was the Chairman of) in December of 2004. His election came in the wake of the assassination of Governor Ali Al Haidary.

Mr Fadel is a Shia Muslim and spent time in exile in Iran during the regime of Sadam Hussein. He is a Civil Engineer and a graduate of Baghdad University.

In 1980, Mr Fadel was selected to represent Iraq on the national Olympic soccer team. A debilitating knee injury shortly before the start of the games caused him to be sidelined for the Los Angeles Olympics.

Mr Fadel is politically secular and he openly supported the U.S.invasion of Iraq. He made international news in early 2005 when he announced to the media that a statue of George W. Bush should be erected in Baghdad.