Mohammad Bahr al-Ulloum

Ayatollah Mohammad Bahr al-Ulloum (Arabic: محمد بحر العلوم‎) (born 1923) is a prominent Twelver Shi'a Islamic leader and politician in Iraq.^[1][2]

Father of Ibrahim Mohammad Bahr al-Ulloum, Oil Minister of Iraq from September 2003 to June 2004, and again during 2005.

Al-Ulloum was a longtime opponent of the rule of Saddam Hussein. After the United States deposed Saddam Hussein in 2003, as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Al-Ulloum was appointed to the Iraq interim governing council. He agreed to participate in the interim government and was appointed to the nine-member rotating presidency. He was the first president of the council, in an interim capacity, serving in that position from July 13, 2003, until August 1, 2003.

In August 2003, Mohammed Bakr al-Hakim, a friend of al-Ulloum, was killed in a car bombing. Shortly after, Al-Ulloum announced his voluntary suspension from the council, citing the failure of the council's ability to maintain law and order in post-war Iraq.^[3] He later returned to the council, and became president again on March 1, 2004, serving until April 1, 2004.

Mohammad al-Ulloum lived in London prior to the 2003 Iraq invasion, where he opposed Saddam's rule for many years. He was an active member of London's Shi'a community and was the head of AhlulBayt Centre in South London.

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