Ministry of Defence (Iraq)
The Ministry of Defence (Arabic: وزارة الدفاع العراقية) is the Iraqi government agency responsible for defence of Iraq. It is also involved with internal security.
| Department overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed |
|
| Jurisdiction | Government of Iraq |
| Headquarters | Green Zone, Baghdad |
| Annual budget | $7.6 Billion (2019)[1] |
| Minister responsible |
|
| Website | www www |
Authority edit
The Ministry directs all the Iraqi Armed Forces, comprising a Joint Headquarters, the Iraqi Ground Forces Command (which controls the Army), the Iraqi Special Operations Forces, the Iraqi Army, the Iraqi Navy (including Marines), and the Iraqi Air Force.[2]
History edit
The Ministry was dissolved by Coalition Provisional Authority Order Number 2 of mid-2003. It was formally re-established by CPA Order 67 of 21 March 2004. In the interim period, the CPA Office of Security Affairs served as the de facto Ministry of Defence.[3]
The Iraqi Counter Terrorism Bureau directs the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Command, which is a further military force answerable to the Prime Minister of Iraq directly. As of 30 June 2009, there had been legislation in progress for a year to make the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Bureau a separate ministry.[4]
Minister of defence edit
The position of Minister of Defence became vacant in the previous Iraqi cabinet, approved on 21 December 2010. While it was vacant, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki served as the acting defence minister. Saadoun al-Dulaimi later served as Minister of Defence from 2011 to 2014. Khaled al-Obaidi served as defence minister in the Iraqi cabinet of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. Juma Inad served as defense minister from May 2020 to October of 2022 under the caretaker government of Mustafa al-Kadhimi. Thabet Muhammad Al-Abasi serves as the current minister of defense as of 2022.
The previous Minister of Defence, Lieutenant General Abd al-Qadr Muhammed Jassim al-Obaidi, is a Sunni career military officer and political independent. He had limited experience and faced a number of hurdles impeding his effective governance. Some of the major problems included inheriting a staff that is notorious for favorism, corruption, and deeply divided along sectarian and ethnic lines. He was a rival of the former Minister of the Interior Jawad al-Bolani, National Security Advisor Muwafaq al-Rubai, and Minister of Staff for National Security Affairs Shirwan al-Waili. He has been criticized for not being able to stand up to the Badr Organization and Mehdi Army members which dominate his own party. In addition, as a Sunni he faced inherent challenges working within a Shiite-dominated government.
On 19 September 2005, The Independent reported that approximately one billion US dollars have been stolen by top ranking officials from the Ministry of Defence including Hazim al-Shaalan and Ziyad Cattan.[5]
Previous defence ministers under Saddam Hussein's regime included Ali Hassan al-Majid ('Chemical Ali'). Iraq's first minister of defence was Jafar al-Askari (1920-1922).
List of ministers of defence edit
Kingdom of Iraq (1921–1958) edit
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2017) |
| Name | Portrait | Term of office | Political party | Prime Minister | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jafar al-Askari | 23 October 1920 | 16 November 1922 | Abd Al-Rahman Al-Gillani | ||||
| Nuri as-Said | 20 November 1922 | 2 August 1924 | |||||
| Yasin al-Hashimi | 2 August 1924 | 2 June 1925 | |||||
| Nuri as-Said | 26 June 1925 | 8 January 1928 | |||||
| Abd al-Muhsin as-Sa'dun | 14 January 1928 | 20 January 1929 | |||||
| Muhammad Amin Zaki | 28 April 1929 | 25 August 1929 | |||||
| Nuri al-Sa’id | 19 September 1929 | 19 March 1930 | |||||
| Jafar al-Askari | 23 March 1930 | 27 October 1932 | |||||
| Rashid al-Khawja | 3 November 1932 | 18 March 1933 | |||||
| Jalal Baban | 20 March 1933 | 28 October 1933 | |||||
Iraqi Republic (1958–1968) edit
| Name | Portrait | Term of office | Political party | President | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abd al-Karim Qasim | 14 July 1958 | 8 February 1963 | Independent | Muhammad Najib ar-Ruba'i | |||
| Salah Mahdi Ammash | 8 February 1963 | 10 November 1963 | Ba'ath Party (Iraq Region) | Abdul Salam Arif | |||
| Hardan al-Tikriti | 10 November 1963 | 2 March 1964 | |||||
| Tahir Yahya | 2 March 1964 | 3 September 1965 | Arab Socialist Union | ||||
| Arif Abd ar-Razzaq | 6 September 1965 | 16 September 1965 | Arab Socialist Union | ||||
| Abd al-'Aziz al-'Uqaili | 21 September 1965 | 18 April 1966 | |||||
| Shakir Mahmud Shukri | 18 April 1966 | 17 July 1968 | Abdul Rahman Arif | ||||
Ba'athist Iraq (1968–2003) edit
| Name | Portrait | Term of office | Political party | President | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ibrahim Abdel Rahman Dawoud | 17 July 1968 | 30 July 1968 | Independent | Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr | |||
| Hardan al-Tikriti | 30 July 1968 | April 1970 | Iraqi Ba'ath Party (Iraq Region) | ||||
| Hammad Shihab | April 1970 | 30 June 1973 | Iraqi Ba'ath Party (Iraq Region) | ||||
| Abdullah al-Khadduri (acting) | 30 June 1973 | 11 November 1974 | Iraqi Ba'ath Party (Iraq Region) | ||||
| Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr | 11 November 1974 | 15 October 1977 | Iraqi Ba'ath Party (Iraq Region) | ||||
| Adnan Khairallah | 15 October 1977 | 4 May 1989 | Iraqi Ba'ath Party (Iraq Region) | Saddam Hussein | |||
| Abdul Jabbar Khalil Shanshal | 4 May 1989 | 1990 | Iraqi Ba'ath Party (Iraq Region) | ||||
| Saadi Toma | 12 December 1990 | 6 April 1991 | Iraqi Ba'ath Party (Iraq Region) | ||||
| Ali Hassan al-Majid | 1991 | 1995 | Iraqi Ba'ath Party (Iraq Region) | ||||
| Sultan Hashim | 1995 | 2003 | Iraqi Ba'ath Party (Iraq Region) | ||||
Republic of Iraq (2004–present) edit
| Name | Portrait | Term of office | Political party | Prime Minister | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ali Allawi | April 2004 | June 2004 | Independent | Ayad Allawi | |||
| Hazim al-Shaalan | June 2004 | 1 June 2005 | Iraqi National Congress | ||||
| Saadoun al-Dulaimi | 1 June 2005 | 6 March 2006 | Independent | Ibrahim al-Jaafari | |||
| Qadir Obeidi | 6 March 2006 | 21 December 2010 | Independent | Nouri al-Maliki | |||
| Nouri al-Maliki | 21 December 2010 | 17 August 2011 | State of Law Coalition | ||||
| Saadoun al-Dulaimi | 17 August 2011 | 18 October 2014 | Unity Alliance of Iraq | ||||
| Khaled al-Obaidi | 18 October 2014 | 19 August 2016 | Unity Alliance of Iraq | Haider al-Abadi | |||
| Othman al-Ghanmi (interim) | 19 August 2016 | 30 January 2017 | State of Law Coalition | ||||
| Erfan al-Hiyali | 30 January 2017 | 24 June 2019[citation needed] | State of Law Coalition | ||||
| Najah al-Shammari | 24 June 2019[6] | 6 May 2020[7] | Adil Abdul-Mahdi | ||||
| Juma Inad | 6 May 2020 | 27 October 2022[8] | Independent | Mustafa Al-Kadhimi | |||
| Thabit Al Abassi | 27 October 2022 | Incumbent | Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani | ||||
References edit
- ^ Tian, Nan; Fleurant, Aude; Kuimova, Alexandra; Wezeman, Pieter D.; Wezeman, Siemon T. (27 April 2020). "Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2019" (PDF). Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
- ^ United States Department of Defense (7 June 2007). "Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq; June 2007;" (PDF). p. 37. (PDF) from the original on 25 November 2018. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
- ^ Rathmell, Andrew (2005). Developing Iraq's security sector: the coalition provisional authority's experience. Rand Corporation. pp. 27. ISBN 0-8330-3823-0.
- ^ Elliot, D.J. (30 June 2009). . Montrose Toast. Archived from the original on 9 October 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
- ^ Cockburn, Patrick (19 September 2005). . The Independent. Archived from the original on 5 October 2009. Retrieved 1 July 2009.
- ^ . Federalist News Network. The Associated Press. June 24, 2019. Archived from the original on 25 October 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
- ^ Mamouri, Ali (May 7, 2020). "Meet Iraq's new Cabinet". Al-Monitor.
- ^ "Thabet Mohammad Al-Abbasi: The newly appointed Iraqi Minister of Defense". Tactical Report. 2022-11-18. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
Further reading edit
- Rathmell, Andrew (2005). Developing Iraq's security sector: the coalition provisional authority's experience. Rand Corporation. pp. 27–32. ISBN 0-8330-3823-0.
External links edit
- Ministry of Defence (in Arabic)