Baha Araji

Bahaa Al Araji
بهاء الاعرجي
Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq
In office
September 6, 2014 – August 10, 2015
Serving with Saleh al-Mutlaq, Rowsch Shaways and Hoshyar Zebari[1]
President Fuad Masum
Member of Iraqi parliament
Assumed office
April 22, 2006
President

Jalal Talabani

Fuad Masum
Personal details
Born 1967
Kadhimiya, Baghdad, Iraq
Nationality Iraqi
Political party United Iraqi Alliance
Children 4
Residence Baghdad, Iraq
Alma mater University of Baghdad
Occupation Politician
Profession Lawyer

Bahaa Al Araji (also transliterated Bahaa al-Aaraji) is an Iraqi politician, a member of the Iraqi National Assembly and the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs from September 2014 to August 2015. He is a spokesman for the United Iraqi Alliance and a member of the Sadrist Movement which is led by Muqtada as-Sadr. He is also currently the head of the Ahrar bloc.

He was a member of the committee that drafted the Constitution of Iraq, where he opposed the proposal for Shia and Sunni Arab Regions.

During coalition negotiations in 2006 he strongly opposed the inclusion of Iyad Allawi's Iraqi National List in the government, saying they represented a red line drawn in blood. This was a reference to the crackdown that Allawi's Iraqi Interim Government launched against the Mahdi Army.

Personal life

Bahaa Al Araji was born in Kazimiyah, Baghdad, to a large working-class family. He was the 5th oldest child of 11 to Hussein Al-Araji. Education was always important to him despite few opportunities handed to him, nonetheless he excelled in school and soon attended Baghdad University, where he gained a first class BA in law.

Iraq parliamentary Elections 2010

Bahaa Al Araji stood in the 2010 Iraqi Parliamentary Elections for the Nasiriyah district as candidate no.2 for the National Iraqi Alliance. He won a seat in the new government formation with over 40 000 raw votes jus to his name, he was the most popular candidate in the Nasiriyah district. He was nominated as one of the ten names on the sadarist mock election ballot and received 5% of the votes, however the elections outcomes were discarded due to allegations of the voting being biased.

Corruption probe

In August 2015, after his resignation and consecutive Deputy Prime Minister position abolishment by a Al Abadi Government reform, he was targeted by a probe for nine allegations including property racketeering and financial corruption. He is one of the most prominent official to be investigated in the fight against corruption in Iraq.[2]

Quotes

References

  1. ↑ Iraq Investment and Business Guide Volume 1 Strategic and Practical Information. IBP Inc. p. 34.
  2. ↑ Morris, Loveday (August 21, 2015). "Beyond terrorism, Iraq’s leader is struggling to fight corruption". The Washington Post.


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