| Fuad al-Rikabi | |
|---|---|
| Secretary of the Regional Command (Iraq) | |
| In office 1951–1959 |
|
| National Secretary | Michel Aflaq |
| Preceded by | None |
| Succeeded by | Ali Salih al-Sadi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1931 Nasiriyah, Kingdom of Iraq |
| Died | 1971 Baghdad, Republic of Iraq |
| Political party | Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party Arab Socialist Union |
| Religion | Shia Islam |
Fuad al-Rikabi (1931-1971) was the founder of the Iraqi branch of the Ba'ath Party that he founded in 1951.[1]
Rikabi was leader of the regional Iraqi Ba'ath Party from 1951 to 1959 and a member of the national Ba'ath Party's National Command from 1954 to 1960.[1] Together with Abdullah Rimawi and other Palestinian defectors from the Syrian Ba'ath Party, Rikabi formed the Socialist Unionists Movement, a political movement supporting the particular brand of pan-Arabism espoused by then-Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser.[2] Rikabi briefly served as Minister of Development in Abd al-Karim Qasim's government, and after leaving the Ba'ath Party he became Minister of Rural Affairs under President Abd al-Salam Arif (who overthrew Qasim in 1963) until he resigned in 1965.[1] He was arrested in 1971 and subsequently died in prison.[1]