Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani
Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani (Arabic: محمد شياع السوداني; born 1970) is an Iraqi politician who has been the Prime Minister of Iraq since 27 October 2022. Prior to his premiership, he held a number of ministerial positions, such as Minister of Industry and Minerals, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, acting Minister of Trade, acting Minister of Finance, acting Minister of Migration and Displaced,[3] acting Minister of Agriculture,[4] and Minister of Human Rights.[5][6] He was Governor of Maysan in 2009-2010.[7]
Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani | |
|---|---|
محمد شياع السوداني | |
Al-Sudani in 2023 | |
| 68th Prime Minister of Iraq | |
| Assumed office 27 October 2022 | |
| President | Abdul Latif Rashid |
| Preceded by | Mustafa Al-Kadhimi |
| Minister of Industry and Minerals | |
| In office 14 August 2016 – 25 October 2018 | |
| Prime Minister | Haider al-Abadi |
| Preceded by | Nasser Al Esawi |
| Succeeded by | Salih Abdullah al-Jubouri |
| Minister of Labour and Social Affairs | |
| In office 14 September 2014 – 25 October 2018 | |
| Prime Minister | Haider al-Abadi |
| Preceded by | Nassar al-Rubaye |
| Succeeded by | Bassem al-Rubaye |
| Minister of Human Rights | |
| In office 21 December 2010 – 18 October 2014 | |
| Prime Minister | Nouri al-Maliki |
| Preceded by | Wijdan Michael Salim |
| Succeeded by | Mohammed Mahdi al-Bayati |
| Governor of Maysan Province | |
| In office 2009–2010 | |
| Prime Minister | Nouri al-Maliki |
| Preceded by | Adil Mahwadar Radi |
| Succeeded by | Ali Dawai Lazem |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1970 (age 53–54) Baghdad, Ba'athist Iraq |
| Political party | Al-Furatayn (2019–present)[1] Dawa (until 2019)[2] |
| Alma mater | University of Baghdad |
| Profession | Politician |
| Signature | |
Early life edit
Al-Sudani was born in 1970 to a Shia Muslim family in Baghdad.[8] At the age of 10, he witnessed his father and five other family members being executed for membership of the Islamic Dawa Party. Al-Sudani holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Baghdad in Agricultural Science and a master's degree in Project Management. He is married and has four sons.
Sudani participated in the 1991 uprisings that began after the end of the Gulf War. In 1997, he was appointed to Maysan Agriculture Office, in which he was the Head of Kumait City Agriculture department, Head of Ali Al-Sharqi City Agriculture department, Head of Agricultural Production department and the supervisor Engineer in the National Research Program with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
After the invasion of Iraq by the United States and its allies in 2003, Sudani worked as a coordinator between the Maysan Province administration and the Coalition Provisional Authority. In 2004 he was appointed Mayor of Amarah City. In 2005 he was elected as a member of Maysan Province Council. He was reelected in 2009 and appointed governor by the council.
Career edit
Iraqi Minister of Human Rights edit
He was appointed by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as the Minister of Human Rights after the 2010 parliamentary election, being approved by parliament on 21 December 2010.
During 2011, he was briefly chairman of the Supreme National De-Baathification Commission|Justice and Accountability Commission for De-Ba'athification, which had the power to bar individuals from government for links to the former ruling Ba'ath Party.[citation needed]
He was minister in August 2014 when thousands of Yazidis were massacred in northern Iraq by the Islamic State (ISIS or Daesh). He described it as "a vicious atrocity" and said it was the "responsibility of the international community to take a firm stand against the Daesh" and to "start the war on Daesh to stop genocides and atrocities against civilians".[9] He asked the United Nations Human Rights Council to launch an investigation into crimes against civilians committed by ISIS. He described their crimes as amounting to genocide and crimes against humanity.[10] "We are facing a terrorist monster", he explained. "Their movement must be curbed. Their assets should be frozen and confiscated. Their military capacities must be destroyed."[11]
He was succeeded by Mohammed Mahdi Ameen al-Bayati in October 2014, when the government of Haider al-Abadi took office.[12]
Prime Minister edit
In a bid to end the 2022 Iraqi political crisis, the coordination framework officially nominated al-Sudani for the post of prime minister in May 2022.[13] He succeeded in forming a government, which was approved by the Council of Representatives on 27 October.[14]
In January 2023, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, al-Sudani defended the presence of U.S. troops in his country and set no timetable for their withdrawal, referring to the U.S. and NATO troop contingents that train and assist Iraqi units in countering Islamic State, but largely stay out of combat, though he mentioned that the U.S.-led military coalition in Iraq is no longer needed.[15]
The Economist has said that al-Sudani is affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), the state-sponsored militia umbrella organization that unites different armed factions, and his tenure has seen their influence further increase in Iraq.[16] His government has increased the number of troops for the PMF by 116,000, increasing the total number to around 230,000, and has set its budget to US$2.7 billion. It has also launched a building company affiliated with the PMF, named after killed PMF commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis; the company gives preferential access to government contractors and the government has awarded the company with strategic land.[16]
On 20 July 2023, al-Sudani expelled the Swedish ambassador to Iraq and revoked work permits for Swedish companies after Sweden approved a planned Quran burning.[17]
On 10 October 2023, al-Sudani arrived in Moscow and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.[18] On 21 October 2023, he called for a ceasefire in the Israel–Hamas war.[19] During a meeting with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, he described the Hamas attack on Israel as "a result of years of criminal policies of the Zionist regime against the people of Gaza."[20]
On 17 February 2024, he met with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Munich while he was attending the Munich Security Conference where he met with various world leaders.[21]
In April 2024, al-Sudani condemned the Israeli bombing of the Iranian embassy in Damascus.[22]
References edit
- ^ "Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al Sudani's Biography | Embassy of the Republic of Iraq in Washington, D.C."
- ^ السوداني يعلن استقالته من حزب الدعوة وائتلاف دولة القانون
- ^ "Who is Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani". Washington Institute.
- ^ "محمد شياع السوداني.. رئيس الوزراء العراقي". AlJazeera.
- ^ . Humanrights.gov.iq. Archived from the original on 2008-03-24. Retrieved 2012-10-20.
- ^ . CIA. Archived from the original on 2013-03-13.
- ^ Brown, Alan (28 November 2010). "Maysan Province receives new vocational training center". dvidshub.net. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
- ^ Kadow, May; Yavorsky, Erik (18 November 2022). "Who Is Mohammed Shia al-Sudani?". washingtoninstitute.org. The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
- ^ "Exclusive: Iraq says Islamic State killed 500 Yazidis, buried some victims alive". Reuters. 2014-08-10. Retrieved 2015-08-16.
- ^ "UN Human Rights Council Requests Investigation into Daesh's Human Rights Abuses in Iraq". International Justice Resource Center. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 2015-08-16.
- ^ Heilprin, John; Press, Associated. . KRQE News 13. Archived from the original on 2014-09-27. Retrieved 2015-08-16.
- ^ Sikimic, Simona; Atkinson, Mary (10 July 2015). "Iraq's human rights minister talks battling IS and the Speicher 'mass murder'". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
- ^ "Coordination Framework nominate Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani as candidate for Iraqi prime minister". Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. 25 July 2022.
- ^ "Iraqi parliament approves new government headed by Mohammed Shia al-Sudani". Reuters. 27 October 2022.
- ^ "Iraqi PM Backs Indefinite U.S. Troop Presence in Country: WSJ Interview". US News & World Report. 15 January 2023.
- ^ a b "The Iraqi militias are copying their overmighty cousins in Iran". The Economist. 8 June 2023. ISSN 0013-0613.
- ^ "Prime Minister orders to withdraw the Iraqi Chargé d'Affairs in Stockholm, and instructs the Swedish Ambassador to leave Iraqi territory". Iraqi News Agency. 20 July 2023.
- ^ Mahmoud, Sinan (10 October 2023). "Iraqi leader Al Sudani in Moscow to discuss Middle East situation with Putin". The National.
- ^ Al-Rahim, Rend (25 October 2023). "Iraq, Sudani, and the War on Gaza". Arab Center Washington D.C.
- ^ "Raisi meets Sudani, says Iran and Iraq have 'common position' on Gaza war". Anadolu Agency. 6 November 2023.
- ^ "Iraqi PM Mohammed Shia al Sudani meets with German Chancellor Olag Scholz in Munich, Germany at the Munich Security Conference". Iraqi News Agency. 2024-02-17. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-02-25.
- ^ "Iraqi PM, Iranian president discuss Israeli attack on Iranian consulate in Syria". Xinhua News Agency. 4 April 2024. from the original on 3 April 2024. Retrieved 12 April 2024.