Government of Iraq from 2006
Encyclopedia
The current government of Iraq took office on May 20, 2006 following approval by the members
of the Iraqi National Assembly. This followed the general election in December 2005
. The government succeeded the Iraqi Transitional Government
which had continued in office in a caretaker capacity
until the new government was agreed.
Under the constitution of Iraq
, the first meeting of the Assembly should have taken place by March 12, 2006, one month after certification of the election. The Assembly should have elected the Speaker in its first session, the President no more than fifteen days later, the Prime Minister no more than fifteen days after the President, and the Cabinet no more than thirty days after the Prime Minister.
If any of these deadlines were not met a new election should have been held. However, similar deadlines have been missed before in Iraq — for example with the drafting of the constitution of Iraq
— without the legal consequence occurring.
Acting President Talabani attempted to convene a meeting of the Assembly for March 12, but this required the assent of acting Vice-President Adel Abdul Mahdi, who initially refused to consent.
The seven parties within the United Iraqi Alliance
wrote to Talabani asking him to delay the first session until there was agreement on who should occupy top government positions. They were reluctant to approve the Assembly speaker - expected to be a Sunni - or the President - expected to be a Kurd - before they had agreed to their nominee as Prime Minister.
However, on March 8, Abdul Mahdi backtracked and agreed to sign the decree, on the basis that it would be a "pro-forma" session that would not discuss the Prime Minister and after advice from the Federal Court of Iraq that the Assembly could be convened via an alternative process if he refused to sign.
Talabani agreed to delay the first meeting until March 19 after the Dawa and Sadr Blocs within the United Iraqi Alliance threatened to boycott the session, which might block quorum
. At a meeting with the US Ambassador, the leaders of all the Iraqi parties agreed to bring forward the date to March 16, to prevent the meeting clashing with the Shiite festival of Arba'een
.
In. the event the meeting lasted only thirty minutes and dealt with the swearing-in of the new Assembly members. It was technically left open rather than being adjourned so that the constitutional can require to elect the Speaker at the first session could be complied with. The Assembly's eldest member, Adnan Pachachi
chaired the session as acting speaker following Arab political tradition.
On April 12 Pachachi announced that he would convene the Assembly again for April 17 in an attempt to break the impasse over the new government. However, on April 16 he agreed to postpone the meeting for "a few days" as the Alliance had objected to the nomination of Tariq al-Hashimi
to the post of speaker, calling him "hardline and sectarian".
Under the newly-adopted constitution of Iraq
, the Presidency Council of Iraq
, Prime Minister of Iraq
and Cabinet must have the support of two thirds, or 184, members of the Iraqi National Assembly. The parties who formed the government were:
The 29 members of Sadrist Movement
within the United Iraqi Alliance
withdrew from the government in November 2006, taking the total down to 211. In August 2007, the main Sunni bloc, Iraqi Accord Front withdrew from the Government. The government currently controls 167 seats out of 275 in the National Assembly.
Opposition parties in the Assembly are:
This is the first time that a Sunni Arab
-led political group had been included in an Iraqi government since the fall of Saddam Hussein
.
called for a "government linking everyone, Arabs be they Shias or Sunnis, Kurds and Turkomans" Adnan al-Dulaimi
of the Iraqi Accord Front
said he was willing to enter into coalition with the Kurdish Alliance, the Iraqi National List
or the United Iraqi Alliance
.
On 2 January the main Sunni list, the Iraqi Accord Front
held meetings with Kurdish representatives in Irbil. They reportedly said they would abandon claims that the elections had been rigged once an international election monitors' review was completed, and agreed an outline of a new national unity government. After meeting with Talabani on 8 January, Adnan al-Dulaimi
said that significant headway had been made of forming a coalition government and that "Talabani and I have an identical point of view regarding the formation of a national unity government based on consensus". However al-Dulaimi was attacked by the Iraqi National Dialogue Front headed by Saleh al-Mutlaq
who said they had broken an agreement with his and Allawi's lists to not discuss the new government with the Kurds until the electoral results had been reviewed.
party within the United Iraqi Alliance
originally opposed including Allawi's list in the new government, saying "Allawi is a red line... Allawi represents the Baathists. He's against us. He's arrested our people."
However, on January 22 the Kurdish leaders called for a government of national unity to include all four largest lists.
On March 12 US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad
said that Iraqi political leaders had agreed that "there is no redline, in terms of the inclusion of any faction, in the formation of the government".
, a member of the United Iraqi Alliance
coalition with 15 Assembly members announced May 12, 2006 that it was withdrawing from the government, complaining that the United States
was interfering with the formation of the government. It has been pressing for one of its members to be named the new Oil Minister.
, Sadrist demonstrators in Baghdad chanted "We're going to crush Saleh al-Mutlaq with our slippers", accusing him of backing the Karbala bombers. Abdul Aziz Al-Hakim
, the leader of SCIRI
, said the Sunni parties' alleged support for terrorism would "only increase our willingness to exclude" them.
On May 12, 2006, the Iraqi National Dialogue Front said it had decided not to join the government, saying it is too "sectarian". It walked out of the Assembly meeting that agreed the government protesting that "it was formed on the basis of an ethnic and religious proportional system"but said he would "support everything positive that comes from al-Maliki's government"
The party was not included in the cabinet approved on 20 May, but ten days later an Iraqi newspaper, Al-Sabah al-Jadid reported that Maliki was considering a reshuffle to bring the party into the government.
and al-Maliki. This reduced the government's majority to 211 out of 275 seats. The Sadrist were later reported to have started an opposition group with Iraqi National Dialogue Front to campaign for the withdrawal of foreign troops and against federalism.
In January they agreed to rejoin the government, after an all-party committee was agreed to look at a timetable for the withdrawal of US forces.
However, in April they withdrew again, demanding a timetable for withdrawal.
The Iraqi Islamic Party
, which includes Vice-President Tariq al-Hashimi
, agreed later to join the alliance. The five parties hold around 130 out of 275 members of the Iraqi Council of Representatives.
Dawa and SIIC are Shi'ite Arab Islamist parties, the KDP and PUK are secular Kurdish parties and the IIP is a Sunni Arab Islamist party.
The new alliance agreed to dilute the de-Baathification provisions of the constitution of Iraq
, release prisoners who are held without charge, and hold governorate council elections.
, has the right to name the Prime Minister. The UIA comprises the following parties:
On 12 February the Alliance selected the incumbent Ibrahim al-Jaafari
as their candidate after a close ballot of its 130 assembly members.
Four Alliance members originally put their names forward as candidates:
The Alliance was unable to agree on a candidate by consensus, so decided to put it to a vote. al-Jabiri and Shahristani withdrew their candidacies before the vote. Although they were both thought to favour Adbul Mehdi, they both decided not to publicly back either remaining candidate.
The Iraqi newspaper, Al-Sharq al-Awsat, claimed that Iran
had exerted pressure on the Alliance to choose Jafaari, and the Sadr Movement threatened violence if Abdul Mahdi was chosen. However, the Iranian conservative newspaper, Baztab, was said to be supporting Abdul-Mahdi who has closer ties to Iran than Jafaari.
The two Assembly members from the Sadrist The Upholders of the Message
list were also allowed to vote. One member, Hasan al-Rubai, from the Sadr Movement arrived late so couldn't vote. The result was:
said he "wouldn't object" if Alliance nominated Jafaari.
However, on March 1, 2006, leaders of the Kurdistan Alliance, mainly-Sunni Iraqi Accord Front
and secularist Iraqi National List
agreed to ask the Alliance to drop Jafaari and chose another candidate for Prime Minister. This came after deadly sectarian reprisals against Sunnis after the bombing of the Al-Askari Mosque
, and after a visit by Jafaari to Turkey on February 28, 2006 that was strongly criticised by Talabani.
A Kurdish leader was quoted saying "he (Jaafari) is not appropriate and they (Sunnis and Kurds) cannot form a cabinet with him as he is not neutral". A Sunni leader was quoted saying "his performance has been below expectations...he was unable to control the security situation... and what has happened in the last few days is a proof of what we have said...the government had been inefficient and Mr Jafaari should give his seat to someone "competent". The Kurdistan Islamic Union
said it would back the stance of the Kurdistani Alliance, to avoid conflict with the main Kurdish political forces.
and Ali al-Adeeb
as alternative nominees. However, the meeting ended without agreement, instead mandating a 3-man committee consisting of al-Maliki, Shahristani and Humam Hamoudi
, from SCIRI, to discuss the matter with the Kurdistani Alliance and Islamic Accord Front. The Kurdistani Alliance and Iraqi Accord Front both reiterated their rejection of Jafaari two days later, and the Islamic Virtue Party
spokesman Sabah al-Saadi publicly suggested that they nominate an alternative to Jaafari, further weakening him.
On April 11 the Al-Hayat newspaper reported that the Sadr Movement, who up to then had been the strongest supporters of Jaafari outside his own Dawa Party, had softened their stance. It indicated they may support one of:
On April 14 it was reported that Mohammed Redha al-Sistani, negotiating on behalf of his father Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, had brokered an agreement with al-Sadr and Abdul Mehdi. Under this agreement, al-Sadr agreed not to object to dropping Jafaari, and in exchange Abdul Mehdi would not seek the Prime Ministership himself, settling for his existing post of Vice President.
On April 21 the Alliance reached a decision to put nominate Nouri al-Maliki
to the post of Prime Minister.
originally nominated Khalaf al-Ulayyan
to the post of Deputy Prime Minister, but he was later replaced by Salam al-Zaubai
.
The Kurdistani Alliance proposed the second Deputy Prime Minister.
, current President of Iraq, said prior to the election that he would not seek re-election as President, because it has few powers compared to the Prime Minister. "I'm not ready to be a puppet president of this country", he said. "The president must be partner with the prime minister in ruling Iraq on all levels, foreign affairs, internal everything". However, this has been seen as an indication that he wanted the post to have more powers, rather than him not wanting the post.
On April 12, Iyad al-Samarra'i, a spokesman for the Iraqi Accord Front
called for the President to be a Sunni Arab, saying they were unhappy that both the President and Foreign Minister are Kurds. A Kurdistani Alliance representative, Mahmoud Othman
responded that the Kurds were sticking by Talabani and were happy to let the matter go to a vote of the Iraqi National Assembly. On April 14 the IAF withdrew their proposal, so Talabani was elected unopposed.
It was reported that Adel Abdul Mahdi agreed to stay on as Vice President
rather than continue his bid to become Prime Minister. On April 17 the Iraqi Accord Front
nominated Adnan al-Dulaimi
as Vice-President. Iyad Allawi
was also proposed for Vice-President but that would result in the Sunni Arab community losing out.
Eventually, Tariq Al-Hashimi
, secretary-general of the Iraqi Islamic Party
, was agreed on as the Sunni Vice President. Talabani, Abdul Mahdi and al-Hashimi were elected as the Presidency Council of Iraq on 2006-04-22, alongside Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
and Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani
.
nominated Tariq al-Hashimi
to be the speaker of the Iraqi National Assembly. However, the United Iraqi Alliance
said he was unacceptable as he had "a history of strident rhetoric of a Sunni sectarian sort". Some saw this as a retaliation to the Front's opposition to the nomination of Jaafari as Prime Minister.
On April 22 the Assembly elected Mahmoud al-Mashhadani
as the Speaker in a secret ballot, with 159 votes in favour, 97 spoilt ballots and 10 abstentions.
Khaled al-Attiyah
from the United Iraqi Alliance
and Aref Tayfour
from the Kurdistani Alliance were elected Deputy Speakers.
On May 28 the Assembly went into closed session to debate the internal rules of the Assembly. The United Iraqi Alliance and Kurdistani Alliance wanted the Speaker to have to consult his deputies before making any decisions, a rule fiercely opposed by the Iraqi Accord Front.
In June 2007 the Council of Representatives asked Mashhadani to resign after a Shiite Turkoman lawmaker, Firyad Mohammed Omar, was dragged into an unused office and detained by the speaker's security guards. Attiyah was appointed acting speaker and the Iraqi Accord Front was asked to nominate a replacement within a week.
The Cabinet included three temporary ministers of Defense, Interior
and National Security who were replaced after agreement was reached on who would fill these places.
There are four women in the 37-member cabinet: Narmin Othman
, Bayan Dizayi, Wijdan Michael
, and Faten Mahmoud
.
Cabinet Ministers:
The United States
intervened on February 1 in the negotiations, calling for the Interior and Defense Ministries to be allocated to candidates who are "not regarded as sectarian". The US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad
threatened to withdraw military aid if this was not done. The United Kingdom
Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw
also echoed this in talks with Talabani on February 20, 2006, saying these departments should be in the hands of "technocrats".
Prime Minister-designate Ibrahim al-Jaafari
reacted angrily, saying "Iraqis would not accept interference in their affairs".
and Nasser al-Ameri were tipped by the Turkish Press for Defense and Interior. Maliki was reported to favour al-Ruba’i for Minister of Defense and General Tawfiq al-Yasiri for Interior Minister. Other candidates discussed in the local press were:
Defense:
Interior:
National Security:
The new ministers were finally agreed and sworn in at a meeting of the Assembly on June 8:
Only 198 out of 275 Assembly members were present and many were unaware of the nominees until they were announced. The Ministers required an absolute majority - 138 - to be confirmed, and received 182, 142 and 160 respectively with the IAF opposing Obeidi and Waili. The IAF had originally proposed Obeidi.
, Minister of State for Tourism and Antiquities Liwaa Semeism
and Minister of State for Governorate Affairs Saad Taher al-Hashimi may be forced to resign due to allegations of incompetence. However, Al-Mashriq newspaper claimed they were former Baath Party
members.
was kidnapped in Baghdad. The Accord Front accused Shiite militias of being behind the kidnapping and started a boycott of the National Assembly in protest. On July 8, they said they were considering also withdrawing their four ministers if Mashhadani was not released. She was released unharmed in September.
On 2007-08-01, the Front withdrew from the government, and its six representatives resigned. They had demanded the disbanding of Shi'ite militias, pardoning detainees who had not been charged and stopping raids.
On March 19 the parties agreed to form this council, and agreed it would consist of nineteen members, headed by President Talabani, and split as follows:
However on April 4 Ayatollah
Hadi al-Modarresi
met with the most senior Shi'ite cleric, Ali al-Sistani, to complain that the creation of this council was an attempt to steal the election from the Alliance and constrain the Prime Minister. He called instead for a national referendum to resolve any disputes.
, UIA
independents, the Kurdistani Alliance and Iraqi Islamic Party
. Adil Abdul Mahdi had been proposed as the new Prime Minister, but SCIRI
MP Hameed Maalah was quoted saying the groups hadn't yet agreed on a new leader. A Maliki aide confirmed the plot but said they intended to sabotage it. A no-confidence vote would require a simple majority but a new Prime Minister would require a two-thirds majority.
, Democratic Patriotic Alliance of Kurdistan
and Iraqi Islamic Party
, the new Assembly would consider amendments to the constitution
in its first four months. Following this compromise the Iraqi Islamic Party agreed to back the constitution in the referendum
. A constitutional revision committee was eventually formed under the new parliament, which issued an incomplete report in 2007. Despite widespread agreement amongst a majority of parties in Iraq that the text is in need of revision, partly in order to clarify some technical issues but also in part in order to bring the constitution more closely in line with the Iraqi mainstream, the constitutional revision process has not made any progress through parliament since 2007.
to form the constitutional review committee and to defer implementation of the law for 18 months. Legislators from the Iraqi Accord Front
, Sadrist Movement
and Islamic Virtue Party
all opposed the bill.
in the Iraqi Governorate elections of 2005. One of the tasks of the government was to pass a law to regulate the powers of the governorates and the process of elections. The law was finally passed by the Council of Representatives of Iraq in February 2008. It was vetoed by the Presidency Council
at first, on the grounds that giving the Prime Minister
the power to dismiss Governors would contravene the constitution
. However, the Council reversed its position following protests from the Sadrist Movement
, saying they would seek changes to the law before it came into force.
and parts or all of Diyala and Ninawa
. However, this move is opposed by Turkmen
and Arab
s in Kirkuk and by neighbouring Turkey
. The Iraqi newspaper, 'Al-Furat, reported 2006-03-05 that this is also opposed by Jaafari, and one of the reasons why the Kurds opposed his nomination. The al-Maliki government announced in its programme that the referendum to determine Kirkuk's status would be held on 15 November 2007.
The Kurds would also like to increase the proportion of oil revenues retained by the regions from 17% to 24%.
In August 2006 Maliki appointed a committee to "examine the status" of Kirkuk "in light of Iraq's federalist system", headed by the Sunni Arab Justice Minister Hashim al-Shibli. The committee also including the Shi'ite Independent Interior Minister Jawad Bulani
, the Turkoman Youth Minister Jasim Mohammed Jaafar
and four representatives from Kirkuk.
started a "go-slow", annoyed that they had lost their control over the oil ministry. A state of emergency was imposed on June 2 and the Iraqi Army stationed at key positions. A provincial security council was appointed by Prime Minister Maliki
, consisting of:
Members of the 1st Iraqi Council of Representatives
The members of the first Iraqi Council of Representatives were elected in December 2005 under the newly-adopted constitution.The main functions of the Council were to:...
of the Iraqi National Assembly. This followed the general election in December 2005
Iraqi legislative election, December 2005
Following the ratification of the Constitution of Iraq on 15 October 2005, a general election was held on 15 December to elect a permanent 275-member Iraqi Council of Representatives....
. The government succeeded the Iraqi Transitional Government
Iraqi Transitional Government
The Iraqi Transitional Government was the government of Iraq from May 3rd, 2005, when it replaced the Iraqi Interim Government, until May 20th, 2006, when it was replaced by the first permanent government....
which had continued in office in a caretaker capacity
Caretaker government
Caretaker government is a type of government that rules temporarily. A caretaker government is often set up following a war until stable democratic rule can be restored, or installed, in which case it is often referred to as a provisional government...
until the new government was agreed.
Process of formation
The Iraq National Assembly was elected on December 15, 2005. Due to disputes over alleged vote-rigging the results of the election were only certified by the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq on February 10, 2006.Under the constitution of Iraq
Constitution of Iraq
The Constitution of Iraq is Iraq's fundamental law.-History:Iraq's first constitution, which established a constitutional monarchy, entered into force under the auspices of a British military occupation in 1925 and remained in effect until the 1958 revolution established a republic...
, the first meeting of the Assembly should have taken place by March 12, 2006, one month after certification of the election. The Assembly should have elected the Speaker in its first session, the President no more than fifteen days later, the Prime Minister no more than fifteen days after the President, and the Cabinet no more than thirty days after the Prime Minister.
If any of these deadlines were not met a new election should have been held. However, similar deadlines have been missed before in Iraq — for example with the drafting of the constitution of Iraq
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
— without the legal consequence occurring.
First Assembly meeting
Negotiations over the new government only started in earnest once the results of the election were in.Acting President Talabani attempted to convene a meeting of the Assembly for March 12, but this required the assent of acting Vice-President Adel Abdul Mahdi, who initially refused to consent.
The seven parties within the United Iraqi Alliance
United Iraqi Alliance
The National Iraqi Alliance , also known as the Watani List, is an Iraqi electoral coalition that contested the Iraqi legislative election, 2010. The Alliance is mainly composed of Shi'a Islamist parties...
wrote to Talabani asking him to delay the first session until there was agreement on who should occupy top government positions. They were reluctant to approve the Assembly speaker - expected to be a Sunni - or the President - expected to be a Kurd - before they had agreed to their nominee as Prime Minister.
However, on March 8, Abdul Mahdi backtracked and agreed to sign the decree, on the basis that it would be a "pro-forma" session that would not discuss the Prime Minister and after advice from the Federal Court of Iraq that the Assembly could be convened via an alternative process if he refused to sign.
Talabani agreed to delay the first meeting until March 19 after the Dawa and Sadr Blocs within the United Iraqi Alliance threatened to boycott the session, which might block quorum
Quorum
A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly necessary to conduct the business of that group...
. At a meeting with the US Ambassador, the leaders of all the Iraqi parties agreed to bring forward the date to March 16, to prevent the meeting clashing with the Shiite festival of Arba'een
Arba'een
Arba'een or Chelom , is one of the largest pilgrimage gatherings on Earth, in which over 10 million people go to the city of Karbala in Iraq. As it is known by Persian-speaking and Urdu-speaking Muslims in Central and South Asia, Arba'een is a Shia Muslim religious observation that occurs 40 days...
.
In. the event the meeting lasted only thirty minutes and dealt with the swearing-in of the new Assembly members. It was technically left open rather than being adjourned so that the constitutional can require to elect the Speaker at the first session could be complied with. The Assembly's eldest member, Adnan Pachachi
Adnan Pachachi
Adnan al-Pachachi or Adnan Muzahim Amin al-Pachachi is a veteran Iraqi politician and diplomat. Pachachi was Iraq's Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 1959 to 1965 and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iraq from 1965 to 1967; he again served as Permanent Representative to the UN...
chaired the session as acting speaker following Arab political tradition.
On April 12 Pachachi announced that he would convene the Assembly again for April 17 in an attempt to break the impasse over the new government. However, on April 16 he agreed to postpone the meeting for "a few days" as the Alliance had objected to the nomination of Tariq al-Hashimi
Tariq Al-Hashimi
Tariq al-Hashimi is an Iraqi politician and was general secretary of the Iraqi Islamic Party until May 2009. Along with Adil Abdul Mahdi, he is a Vice President of Iraq in the government formed after the December 2005 elections...
to the post of speaker, calling him "hardline and sectarian".
Coalition parties
Constitution of Iraq
The Constitution of Iraq is Iraq's fundamental law.-History:Iraq's first constitution, which established a constitutional monarchy, entered into force under the auspices of a British military occupation in 1925 and remained in effect until the 1958 revolution established a republic...
, the Presidency Council of Iraq
Presidency Council of Iraq
The Presidency Council of Iraq is an entity currently operating under the auspices of the "transitional provisions" of the Constitution of Iraq and previously under the Transitional Administrative Law....
, Prime Minister of Iraq
Prime Minister of Iraq
The Prime Minister of Iraq is Iraq's head of government. Prime Minister was originally an appointed office, subsidiary to the head of state, and the nominal leader of the Iraqi parliament. Under the newly adopted constitution the Prime Minister is to be the country's active executive authority...
and Cabinet must have the support of two thirds, or 184, members of the Iraqi National Assembly. The parties who formed the government were:
- United Iraqi AllianceUnited Iraqi AllianceThe National Iraqi Alliance , also known as the Watani List, is an Iraqi electoral coalition that contested the Iraqi legislative election, 2010. The Alliance is mainly composed of Shi'a Islamist parties...
(excluding the Islamic Virtue PartyIslamic Virtue PartyIslamic Virtue Party is an Iraqi political party. It follows ayatollah Muhammad Ya`qubi a student of Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr and thus represent a branch of the Sadrist Movement, however the party is not affiliated with Muqtada al-Sadr and is in fact a rival to his branch of the Sadrists...
) - 113 - Kurdistani Alliance - 53
- Iraqi Accord FrontIraqi Accord FrontThe Iraqi Accord Front or Iraqi Accordance Front also known as Tawafuq is an Iraqi Sunni-Islamist political coalition created on October 26, 2005 by the Iraqi Islamic Party to contest the December 2005 general election...
- 44 - Iraqi National ListIraqi National ListThe Iraqi National List is a coalition of Iraqi political parties who ran in the December 2005 Iraqi elections and got 8.0% of the vote and 25 out of 275 seats...
- 25 - The Upholders of the MessageThe Upholders of the MessageThe Upholders of the Message, is an Iraqi political list that ran in the December 2005 elections. This list won 1.2 % of the popular vote, thus receiving two seats. The members are supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr and they were allowed to join the United Iraqi Alliance primary election for the Iraqi...
- 2 - Iraqi Turkmen FrontIraqi Turkmen FrontThe Iraqi Turkmen Front is a political movement founded in 1995 which seeks to represent the Turkmen people of Iraq. Since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, the ITF has contested control of Kirkuk and other areas of northern Iraq....
- 1 - National Rafidain ListNational Rafidain ListThe National Rafidain List or Al Rafidain National List is the name of the list that is used by Assyrian Democratic Movement during the Iraqi elections, headed by Yunadam Kanna....
- 1 - Total - 240
The 29 members of Sadrist Movement
Sadrist Movement
The Sadrist Movement is an Iraqi Islamist national movement led by Muqtada al-Sadr. The movement draws wide support from across Iraqi society and especially from the Shi'a poor in the country. The most important person in setting the goals and the philosophy of the movement was Grand Ayatollah...
within the United Iraqi Alliance
United Iraqi Alliance
The National Iraqi Alliance , also known as the Watani List, is an Iraqi electoral coalition that contested the Iraqi legislative election, 2010. The Alliance is mainly composed of Shi'a Islamist parties...
withdrew from the government in November 2006, taking the total down to 211. In August 2007, the main Sunni bloc, Iraqi Accord Front withdrew from the Government. The government currently controls 167 seats out of 275 in the National Assembly.
Opposition parties in the Assembly are:
- Islamic Virtue PartyIslamic Virtue PartyIslamic Virtue Party is an Iraqi political party. It follows ayatollah Muhammad Ya`qubi a student of Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr and thus represent a branch of the Sadrist Movement, however the party is not affiliated with Muqtada al-Sadr and is in fact a rival to his branch of the Sadrists...
- 15 - Iraqi National Dialogue Front - 11
- Kurdistan Islamic UnionKurdistan Islamic UnionKurdistan Islamic Union is an Islamist party in Iraqi Kurdistan is in principle independent and is directly responsible for policy matters. The party has close ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.-Events:...
- 5 - Reconciliation and Liberation BlocReconciliation and Liberation BlocThe Reconciliation and Liberation Bloc or Kutla al-Musalaha wa't-Tahrir is an Iraqi political party. The Sunni, liberal, and secularist party was founded as the Iraqi Homeland Party in Jordan in 1995 by exiles from Saddam's regime. A prominent member was Saddam's son-in-law Hussein Kamel al-Majid...
- 3 - Mithal al-Alusi ListMithal al-Alusi ListThe Mithal al-Alusi List is one of the coalitions of Iraqi political parties that ran in the December 2005 elections. It was formed from the Iraqi Federalist Gathering and the Iraqi Ummah Party The coalition won 0.3 % of the popular vote, thus receiving one seat, which was taken by its...
- 1 - Yazidi Movement for Reform and ProgressYazidi Movement for Reform and ProgressThe Yazidi Movement for Reform and Progress is a Yezidi political party in Iraq. The party represents Yezidi people in the Nineveh plains.It ran in the December 2005 elections and won 0.2 % of the popular vote, thus receiving one seat in the Iraqi parliament .The party won a local governorate seat...
- 1
This is the first time that a Sunni Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
-led political group had been included in an Iraqi government since the fall of Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
.
Negotiations
Immediately after the elections, leaders of all four major political groups called for a government of national unity. Kurdish leader Jalal TalabaniJalal Talabani
Jalal Talabani is the sixth and current President of Iraq, a leading Kurdish politician. He is the first non-Arab president of Iraq, although Abdul Kareem Qasim was half Kurdish....
called for a "government linking everyone, Arabs be they Shias or Sunnis, Kurds and Turkomans" Adnan al-Dulaimi
Adnan al-Dulaimi
Adnan al-Dulaimi is a Sunni Iraqi politician who became prominent following the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the fall of the regime of Saddam Hussein...
of the Iraqi Accord Front
Iraqi Accord Front
The Iraqi Accord Front or Iraqi Accordance Front also known as Tawafuq is an Iraqi Sunni-Islamist political coalition created on October 26, 2005 by the Iraqi Islamic Party to contest the December 2005 general election...
said he was willing to enter into coalition with the Kurdish Alliance, the Iraqi National List
Iraqi National List
The Iraqi National List is a coalition of Iraqi political parties who ran in the December 2005 Iraqi elections and got 8.0% of the vote and 25 out of 275 seats...
or the United Iraqi Alliance
United Iraqi Alliance
The National Iraqi Alliance , also known as the Watani List, is an Iraqi electoral coalition that contested the Iraqi legislative election, 2010. The Alliance is mainly composed of Shi'a Islamist parties...
.
On 2 January the main Sunni list, the Iraqi Accord Front
Iraqi Accord Front
The Iraqi Accord Front or Iraqi Accordance Front also known as Tawafuq is an Iraqi Sunni-Islamist political coalition created on October 26, 2005 by the Iraqi Islamic Party to contest the December 2005 general election...
held meetings with Kurdish representatives in Irbil. They reportedly said they would abandon claims that the elections had been rigged once an international election monitors' review was completed, and agreed an outline of a new national unity government. After meeting with Talabani on 8 January, Adnan al-Dulaimi
Adnan al-Dulaimi
Adnan al-Dulaimi is a Sunni Iraqi politician who became prominent following the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the fall of the regime of Saddam Hussein...
said that significant headway had been made of forming a coalition government and that "Talabani and I have an identical point of view regarding the formation of a national unity government based on consensus". However al-Dulaimi was attacked by the Iraqi National Dialogue Front headed by Saleh al-Mutlaq
Saleh al-Mutlaq
Saleh Muhammed al-Mutlaq is an Iraqi politician who is the head of Iraqi Front for National Dialogue, the fifth largest political list in Iraq's parliament. Since 21 December 2010, he has been one of the three deputy prime ministers of Iraq....
who said they had broken an agreement with his and Allawi's lists to not discuss the new government with the Kurds until the electoral results had been reviewed.
Iraqi National List
The Sadrist MovementSadrist Movement
The Sadrist Movement is an Iraqi Islamist national movement led by Muqtada al-Sadr. The movement draws wide support from across Iraqi society and especially from the Shi'a poor in the country. The most important person in setting the goals and the philosophy of the movement was Grand Ayatollah...
party within the United Iraqi Alliance
United Iraqi Alliance
The National Iraqi Alliance , also known as the Watani List, is an Iraqi electoral coalition that contested the Iraqi legislative election, 2010. The Alliance is mainly composed of Shi'a Islamist parties...
originally opposed including Allawi's list in the new government, saying "Allawi is a red line... Allawi represents the Baathists. He's against us. He's arrested our people."
However, on January 22 the Kurdish leaders called for a government of national unity to include all four largest lists.
On March 12 US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad
Zalmay Khalilzad
Zalmay Mamozy Khalilzad is a counselor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and president of Khalilzad Associates, an international business consulting firm based in Washington, DC. He was the United States Ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush...
said that Iraqi political leaders had agreed that "there is no redline, in terms of the inclusion of any faction, in the formation of the government".
Islamic Virtue Party
The Islamic Virtue PartyIslamic Virtue Party
Islamic Virtue Party is an Iraqi political party. It follows ayatollah Muhammad Ya`qubi a student of Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr and thus represent a branch of the Sadrist Movement, however the party is not affiliated with Muqtada al-Sadr and is in fact a rival to his branch of the Sadrists...
, a member of the United Iraqi Alliance
United Iraqi Alliance
The National Iraqi Alliance , also known as the Watani List, is an Iraqi electoral coalition that contested the Iraqi legislative election, 2010. The Alliance is mainly composed of Shi'a Islamist parties...
coalition with 15 Assembly members announced May 12, 2006 that it was withdrawing from the government, complaining that the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
was interfering with the formation of the government. It has been pressing for one of its members to be named the new Oil Minister.
Iraqi National Dialogue Front
Following a suicide bombing in KarbalaKarbala
Karbala is a city in Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governorate, and has an estimated population of 572,300 people ....
, Sadrist demonstrators in Baghdad chanted "We're going to crush Saleh al-Mutlaq with our slippers", accusing him of backing the Karbala bombers. Abdul Aziz Al-Hakim
Abdul Aziz al-Hakim
Sayyed Abdul Aziz al-Hakim was an Iraqi theologian and politician and the leader of Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, a party that enjoys approximately 5% support in the Iraqi Council of Representatives....
, the leader of SCIRI
Sciri
Sciri may refer to:*Scirii, people*SCIRI, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq...
, said the Sunni parties' alleged support for terrorism would "only increase our willingness to exclude" them.
On May 12, 2006, the Iraqi National Dialogue Front said it had decided not to join the government, saying it is too "sectarian". It walked out of the Assembly meeting that agreed the government protesting that "it was formed on the basis of an ethnic and religious proportional system"but said he would "support everything positive that comes from al-Maliki's government"
The party was not included in the cabinet approved on 20 May, but ten days later an Iraqi newspaper, Al-Sabah al-Jadid reported that Maliki was considering a reshuffle to bring the party into the government.
Sadrist withdrawal
In November 2006 the Sadrist Movement withdrew from the government in protest of the meeting between US President George W. BushGeorge W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
and al-Maliki. This reduced the government's majority to 211 out of 275 seats. The Sadrist were later reported to have started an opposition group with Iraqi National Dialogue Front to campaign for the withdrawal of foreign troops and against federalism.
In January they agreed to rejoin the government, after an all-party committee was agreed to look at a timetable for the withdrawal of US forces.
However, in April they withdrew again, demanding a timetable for withdrawal.
Iraqi Accord Front withdrawal
On the 1st of August, the Iraqi Accord Front which consists of 44 members of the Parliament, withdrew from the Government. Al-Hashemi will remain vice-president.Iraqi National List withdrawal
Shortly after the IAF withdrew from government, the secularist Iraqi National List announced that their five ministers were suspending their participation in cabinet meetings citing the failure of al-Maliki to respond to the List's demands. Initially, they said they would continue their ministerial work, but three weeks later they withdrew completely. The communist science minister, however, decided to continue in the government.Moderates Front
In August 2007, a new alliance was formed, calling themselves the "Moderates Front". This consisted of the four remaining core parties of the al-Maliki government:- Islamic Dawa PartyIslamic Dawa PartyThe Islamic Dawa Party or Islamic Call Party is a political party in Iraq. Dawa and the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council are two of the main parties in the religious-Shiite United Iraqi Alliance, which won a plurality of seats in both the provisional January 2005 Iraqi election and the longer-term...
, led by Prime Minister of IraqPrime Minister of IraqThe Prime Minister of Iraq is Iraq's head of government. Prime Minister was originally an appointed office, subsidiary to the head of state, and the nominal leader of the Iraqi parliament. Under the newly adopted constitution the Prime Minister is to be the country's active executive authority...
, Nouri al-MalikiNouri al-MalikiNouri Kamil Mohammed Hasan al-Maliki , also known as Jawad al-Maliki or Abu Esraa, is the Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party. Al-Maliki and his government succeeded the Iraqi Transitional Government. He is currently in his second term as Prime Minister... - Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, which includes Vice-President Adil Abdul-MahdiAdil Abdul-MahdiAdil Abdul-Mahdi is an Iraqi Shi'a politician, economist, and was the Vice Presidents of Iraq from 2005 to 2011. He was formerly the Finance Minister in the Interim government....
- Kurdistan Democratic Party, led by Iraqi KurdistanIraqi KurdistanIraqi Kurdistan or Kurdistan Region is an autonomous region of Iraq. It borders Iran to the east, Turkey to the north, Syria to the west and the rest of Iraq to the south. The regional capital is Arbil, known in Kurdish as Hewlêr...
President Massoud BarzaniMassoud BarzaniMassoud Barzani is the current President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region and the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party. Barzani was born in Mahabad, Iran, during the rule of the Republic of Mahabad... - Patriotic Union of KurdistanPatriotic Union of KurdistanThe Patriotic Union of Kurdistan is a Kurdish political party in Iraqi Kurdistan. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan was founded on June 1, 1975, by coordinations between Jalal Talabani and Nawshirwan Mustafa...
, led by the President of IraqPresident of IraqThe President of Iraq is the head of state of Iraq and "safeguards the commitment to the Constitution and the preservation of Iraq's independence, sovereignty, unity, the security of its territories in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution." The President is elected by the Council of...
, Jalal TalabaniJalal TalabaniJalal Talabani is the sixth and current President of Iraq, a leading Kurdish politician. He is the first non-Arab president of Iraq, although Abdul Kareem Qasim was half Kurdish....
The Iraqi Islamic Party
Iraqi Islamic Party
The Iraqi Islamic Party is currently the largest Sunni Islamist political party in Iraq as well as the most prominent member of the Iraqi Accord Front political coalition. It is currently part of the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki...
, which includes Vice-President Tariq al-Hashimi
Tariq Al-Hashimi
Tariq al-Hashimi is an Iraqi politician and was general secretary of the Iraqi Islamic Party until May 2009. Along with Adil Abdul Mahdi, he is a Vice President of Iraq in the government formed after the December 2005 elections...
, agreed later to join the alliance. The five parties hold around 130 out of 275 members of the Iraqi Council of Representatives.
Dawa and SIIC are Shi'ite Arab Islamist parties, the KDP and PUK are secular Kurdish parties and the IIP is a Sunni Arab Islamist party.
The new alliance agreed to dilute the de-Baathification provisions of the constitution of Iraq
Constitution of Iraq
The Constitution of Iraq is Iraq's fundamental law.-History:Iraq's first constitution, which established a constitutional monarchy, entered into force under the auspices of a British military occupation in 1925 and remained in effect until the 1958 revolution established a republic...
, release prisoners who are held without charge, and hold governorate council elections.
Initial Alliance nomination
Under the constitution, the largest list in the Assembly, the United Iraqi AllianceUnited Iraqi Alliance
The National Iraqi Alliance , also known as the Watani List, is an Iraqi electoral coalition that contested the Iraqi legislative election, 2010. The Alliance is mainly composed of Shi'a Islamist parties...
, has the right to name the Prime Minister. The UIA comprises the following parties:
On 12 February the Alliance selected the incumbent Ibrahim al-Jaafari
Ibrahim al-Jaafari
Ibrahim abd al-Karim Hamzah al-Eshaiker al-Jafari is an Iraqi politician who was Prime Minister of Iraq in the Iraqi Transitional Government from 2005 to 2006, following the January 2005 election. He was previously one of the two Vice-Presidents of Iraq under the Iraqi Interim Government from 2004...
as their candidate after a close ballot of its 130 assembly members.
Four Alliance members originally put their names forward as candidates:
- Jafaari, the leader of the Islamic Dawa PartyIslamic Dawa PartyThe Islamic Dawa Party or Islamic Call Party is a political party in Iraq. Dawa and the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council are two of the main parties in the religious-Shiite United Iraqi Alliance, which won a plurality of seats in both the provisional January 2005 Iraqi election and the longer-term...
- Adel Abdul Mehdi, the deputy leader and nominee of SCIRISciriSciri may refer to:*Scirii, people*SCIRI, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq...
- Nadim al-JabiriNadim al-JabiriNadim al-Jabiri is an Iraqi politician and the former secretary-general of the Islamic Virtue Party, which at the time was a component of the United Iraqi Alliance until it left in March 2007...
, the nominee of the Islamic Virtue PartyIslamic Virtue PartyIslamic Virtue Party is an Iraqi political party. It follows ayatollah Muhammad Ya`qubi a student of Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr and thus represent a branch of the Sadrist Movement, however the party is not affiliated with Muqtada al-Sadr and is in fact a rival to his branch of the Sadrists... - Hussain al-ShahristaniHussain al-ShahristaniHussain Ibrahim Saleh al-Shahristani is the current Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister for Energy.Born in 1942 in Karbala, Iraq, Shahristani received a BSc in Chemical Engineering from Imperial College London in 1965, and an MSc from the University of Toronto in 1967, from where he also received a PhD in...
, an independent
The Alliance was unable to agree on a candidate by consensus, so decided to put it to a vote. al-Jabiri and Shahristani withdrew their candidacies before the vote. Although they were both thought to favour Adbul Mehdi, they both decided not to publicly back either remaining candidate.
The Iraqi newspaper, Al-Sharq al-Awsat, claimed that Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
had exerted pressure on the Alliance to choose Jafaari, and the Sadr Movement threatened violence if Abdul Mahdi was chosen. However, the Iranian conservative newspaper, Baztab, was said to be supporting Abdul-Mahdi who has closer ties to Iran than Jafaari.
The two Assembly members from the Sadrist The Upholders of the Message
The Upholders of the Message
The Upholders of the Message, is an Iraqi political list that ran in the December 2005 elections. This list won 1.2 % of the popular vote, thus receiving two seats. The members are supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr and they were allowed to join the United Iraqi Alliance primary election for the Iraqi...
list were also allowed to vote. One member, Hasan al-Rubai, from the Sadr Movement arrived late so couldn't vote. The result was:
- Jafaari - 64
- Abdul Mehdi - 63
- Blank - 2
- Absent - 1
- Total - 130 (128 from the Alliance and 2 from the Message)
Objections
Prior to the vote Kurdish leader Jalal TalabaniJalal Talabani
Jalal Talabani is the sixth and current President of Iraq, a leading Kurdish politician. He is the first non-Arab president of Iraq, although Abdul Kareem Qasim was half Kurdish....
said he "wouldn't object" if Alliance nominated Jafaari.
However, on March 1, 2006, leaders of the Kurdistan Alliance, mainly-Sunni Iraqi Accord Front
Iraqi Accord Front
The Iraqi Accord Front or Iraqi Accordance Front also known as Tawafuq is an Iraqi Sunni-Islamist political coalition created on October 26, 2005 by the Iraqi Islamic Party to contest the December 2005 general election...
and secularist Iraqi National List
Iraqi National List
The Iraqi National List is a coalition of Iraqi political parties who ran in the December 2005 Iraqi elections and got 8.0% of the vote and 25 out of 275 seats...
agreed to ask the Alliance to drop Jafaari and chose another candidate for Prime Minister. This came after deadly sectarian reprisals against Sunnis after the bombing of the Al-Askari Mosque
Al-Askari Mosque
Al ‘Askarī Mosque or the ‘Askariyya Mosque/Shrine is a Shī‘ah Muslim holy site located in the Iraqi city of Sāmarrā from Baghdad. It is one of the most important Shī‘ah mosques in the world, built in 944...
, and after a visit by Jafaari to Turkey on February 28, 2006 that was strongly criticised by Talabani.
A Kurdish leader was quoted saying "he (Jaafari) is not appropriate and they (Sunnis and Kurds) cannot form a cabinet with him as he is not neutral". A Sunni leader was quoted saying "his performance has been below expectations...he was unable to control the security situation... and what has happened in the last few days is a proof of what we have said...the government had been inefficient and Mr Jafaari should give his seat to someone "competent". The Kurdistan Islamic Union
Kurdistan Islamic Union
Kurdistan Islamic Union is an Islamist party in Iraqi Kurdistan is in principle independent and is directly responsible for policy matters. The party has close ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.-Events:...
said it would back the stance of the Kurdistani Alliance, to avoid conflict with the main Kurdish political forces.
Second Alliance nomination
At first, Jafaari refused to back down and the stalemate persisted for over six weeks. In April the most senior Shi'ite cleric, Ali al-Sistani intervened, calling for urgent steps to resolve the deadlock in the interests of national unity. On April 8 the Alliance met and reportedly considered Abdul Mehdi, Shahristani and Dawa party members Nouri al-MalikiNouri al-Maliki
Nouri Kamil Mohammed Hasan al-Maliki , also known as Jawad al-Maliki or Abu Esraa, is the Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party. Al-Maliki and his government succeeded the Iraqi Transitional Government. He is currently in his second term as Prime Minister...
and Ali al-Adeeb
Ali al-Adeeb
Ali al-Adeeb is an Iraqi politician and a senior member of the Islamic Dawa Party. In April 2006 he was tipped by the United Iraqi Alliance as a candidate for the post of Prime Minister, after their original choice, Ibrahim Jaafari, was vetoed by the Kurdistani Alliance and Iraqi Accord Front.Adeeb...
as alternative nominees. However, the meeting ended without agreement, instead mandating a 3-man committee consisting of al-Maliki, Shahristani and Humam Hamoudi
Humam Hamoudi
Humam Hamoudi is one of the most important figures in Iraqi politics. He is a member of the Council of Representatives of Iraq representing the United Iraqi Alliance...
, from SCIRI, to discuss the matter with the Kurdistani Alliance and Islamic Accord Front. The Kurdistani Alliance and Iraqi Accord Front both reiterated their rejection of Jafaari two days later, and the Islamic Virtue Party
Islamic Virtue Party
Islamic Virtue Party is an Iraqi political party. It follows ayatollah Muhammad Ya`qubi a student of Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr and thus represent a branch of the Sadrist Movement, however the party is not affiliated with Muqtada al-Sadr and is in fact a rival to his branch of the Sadrists...
spokesman Sabah al-Saadi publicly suggested that they nominate an alternative to Jaafari, further weakening him.
On April 11 the Al-Hayat newspaper reported that the Sadr Movement, who up to then had been the strongest supporters of Jaafari outside his own Dawa Party, had softened their stance. It indicated they may support one of:
- Jawad al-Maliki
- Ali al-Adeeb
- Mowaffak al-Rubaie or
- Abdul Karim al-`Anizi, member of the Islamic Dawa Party - Iraq Organization
On April 14 it was reported that Mohammed Redha al-Sistani, negotiating on behalf of his father Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, had brokered an agreement with al-Sadr and Abdul Mehdi. Under this agreement, al-Sadr agreed not to object to dropping Jafaari, and in exchange Abdul Mehdi would not seek the Prime Ministership himself, settling for his existing post of Vice President.
On April 21 the Alliance reached a decision to put nominate Nouri al-Maliki
Nouri al-Maliki
Nouri Kamil Mohammed Hasan al-Maliki , also known as Jawad al-Maliki or Abu Esraa, is the Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party. Al-Maliki and his government succeeded the Iraqi Transitional Government. He is currently in his second term as Prime Minister...
to the post of Prime Minister.
Deputy Prime Ministers
On April 17 the Iraqi Accord FrontIraqi Accord Front
The Iraqi Accord Front or Iraqi Accordance Front also known as Tawafuq is an Iraqi Sunni-Islamist political coalition created on October 26, 2005 by the Iraqi Islamic Party to contest the December 2005 general election...
originally nominated Khalaf al-Ulayyan
Khalaf al-Ulayyan
Sheikh Khalaf al-Ulayyan is an Iraqi politician and the leader of the Sunni Islamist-led Iraqi National Dialogue Council. The council joined the Iraqi Accord Front to contest the December 2005 general election...
to the post of Deputy Prime Minister, but he was later replaced by Salam al-Zaubai
Salam al-Zaubai
Salam al-Zaubai is an Iraqi politician who was the Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq from 2006 to 2007. He was elected to the Iraqi National Assembly in December 2005 as part of the Sunni Arab-led Iraqi Accord Front list....
.
The Kurdistani Alliance proposed the second Deputy Prime Minister.
President
Jalal TalabaniJalal Talabani
Jalal Talabani is the sixth and current President of Iraq, a leading Kurdish politician. He is the first non-Arab president of Iraq, although Abdul Kareem Qasim was half Kurdish....
, current President of Iraq, said prior to the election that he would not seek re-election as President, because it has few powers compared to the Prime Minister. "I'm not ready to be a puppet president of this country", he said. "The president must be partner with the prime minister in ruling Iraq on all levels, foreign affairs, internal everything". However, this has been seen as an indication that he wanted the post to have more powers, rather than him not wanting the post.
On April 12, Iyad al-Samarra'i, a spokesman for the Iraqi Accord Front
Iraqi Accord Front
The Iraqi Accord Front or Iraqi Accordance Front also known as Tawafuq is an Iraqi Sunni-Islamist political coalition created on October 26, 2005 by the Iraqi Islamic Party to contest the December 2005 general election...
called for the President to be a Sunni Arab, saying they were unhappy that both the President and Foreign Minister are Kurds. A Kurdistani Alliance representative, Mahmoud Othman
Mahmoud Othman
- Timeline :*1954 - Joined the Kurdish Struggle*1962 - Became a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party .*1968 - Became Mustafa Barzani's Deputy dealing with foreign affairs of the revolution....
responded that the Kurds were sticking by Talabani and were happy to let the matter go to a vote of the Iraqi National Assembly. On April 14 the IAF withdrew their proposal, so Talabani was elected unopposed.
It was reported that Adel Abdul Mahdi agreed to stay on as Vice President
Vice President of Iraq
As currently constituted, the state of Iraq has two vice presidents or deputy presidents. The office of Vice President is largely ceremonial but prestigious...
rather than continue his bid to become Prime Minister. On April 17 the Iraqi Accord Front
Iraqi Accord Front
The Iraqi Accord Front or Iraqi Accordance Front also known as Tawafuq is an Iraqi Sunni-Islamist political coalition created on October 26, 2005 by the Iraqi Islamic Party to contest the December 2005 general election...
nominated Adnan al-Dulaimi
Adnan al-Dulaimi
Adnan al-Dulaimi is a Sunni Iraqi politician who became prominent following the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the fall of the regime of Saddam Hussein...
as Vice-President. Iyad Allawi
Iyad Allawi
Ayad Allawi is an Iraqi politician, and was the interim Prime Minister of Iraq prior to Iraq's 2005 legislative elections. A prominent Iraqi political activist who lived in exile for almost 30 years, the politically secular Shia Muslim became a member of the Iraq Interim Governing Council, which...
was also proposed for Vice-President but that would result in the Sunni Arab community losing out.
Eventually, Tariq Al-Hashimi
Tariq Al-Hashimi
Tariq al-Hashimi is an Iraqi politician and was general secretary of the Iraqi Islamic Party until May 2009. Along with Adil Abdul Mahdi, he is a Vice President of Iraq in the government formed after the December 2005 elections...
, secretary-general of the Iraqi Islamic Party
Iraqi Islamic Party
The Iraqi Islamic Party is currently the largest Sunni Islamist political party in Iraq as well as the most prominent member of the Iraqi Accord Front political coalition. It is currently part of the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki...
, was agreed on as the Sunni Vice President. Talabani, Abdul Mahdi and al-Hashimi were elected as the Presidency Council of Iraq on 2006-04-22, alongside Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
Nouri al-Maliki
Nouri Kamil Mohammed Hasan al-Maliki , also known as Jawad al-Maliki or Abu Esraa, is the Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party. Al-Maliki and his government succeeded the Iraqi Transitional Government. He is currently in his second term as Prime Minister...
and Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani
Mahmoud al-Mashhadani
Dr. Mahmoud Dawud al-Mashhadani is an Iraqi politician and a former Speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representatives. He was elected to the Council of Representatives as part of the Sunni Arab-led Iraqi Accord Front list....
.
Assembly Speaker
On April 17 the Iraqi Accord FrontIraqi Accord Front
The Iraqi Accord Front or Iraqi Accordance Front also known as Tawafuq is an Iraqi Sunni-Islamist political coalition created on October 26, 2005 by the Iraqi Islamic Party to contest the December 2005 general election...
nominated Tariq al-Hashimi
Tariq Al-Hashimi
Tariq al-Hashimi is an Iraqi politician and was general secretary of the Iraqi Islamic Party until May 2009. Along with Adil Abdul Mahdi, he is a Vice President of Iraq in the government formed after the December 2005 elections...
to be the speaker of the Iraqi National Assembly. However, the United Iraqi Alliance
United Iraqi Alliance
The National Iraqi Alliance , also known as the Watani List, is an Iraqi electoral coalition that contested the Iraqi legislative election, 2010. The Alliance is mainly composed of Shi'a Islamist parties...
said he was unacceptable as he had "a history of strident rhetoric of a Sunni sectarian sort". Some saw this as a retaliation to the Front's opposition to the nomination of Jaafari as Prime Minister.
On April 22 the Assembly elected Mahmoud al-Mashhadani
Mahmoud al-Mashhadani
Dr. Mahmoud Dawud al-Mashhadani is an Iraqi politician and a former Speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representatives. He was elected to the Council of Representatives as part of the Sunni Arab-led Iraqi Accord Front list....
as the Speaker in a secret ballot, with 159 votes in favour, 97 spoilt ballots and 10 abstentions.
Khaled al-Attiyah
Khaled al-Attiyah
Shaykh Khaled Abather al-Attiyah is an Iraqi politician who was elected in December 2005 to the Council of Representatatives as an independent member of the United Iraqi Alliance....
from the United Iraqi Alliance
United Iraqi Alliance
The National Iraqi Alliance , also known as the Watani List, is an Iraqi electoral coalition that contested the Iraqi legislative election, 2010. The Alliance is mainly composed of Shi'a Islamist parties...
and Aref Tayfour
Aref Tayfour
Aref Tayfour is the Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi National Assembly. A member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, he was elected to the post by the Assembly on 22 April 2006 and after new legislative elections in 2010 he was re-elected to the post in November 2010...
from the Kurdistani Alliance were elected Deputy Speakers.
On May 28 the Assembly went into closed session to debate the internal rules of the Assembly. The United Iraqi Alliance and Kurdistani Alliance wanted the Speaker to have to consult his deputies before making any decisions, a rule fiercely opposed by the Iraqi Accord Front.
In June 2007 the Council of Representatives asked Mashhadani to resign after a Shiite Turkoman lawmaker, Firyad Mohammed Omar, was dragged into an unused office and detained by the speaker's security guards. Attiyah was appointed acting speaker and the Iraqi Accord Front was asked to nominate a replacement within a week.
Ministers
On May 20, 2006 the Iraqi National Assembly approved the following cabinet proposed by Prime Minister Nouri al-MalikiNouri al-Maliki
Nouri Kamil Mohammed Hasan al-Maliki , also known as Jawad al-Maliki or Abu Esraa, is the Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party. Al-Maliki and his government succeeded the Iraqi Transitional Government. He is currently in his second term as Prime Minister...
The Cabinet included three temporary ministers of Defense, Interior
Ministry of Interior (Iraq)
The Ministry of Interior of Iraq handles policing and border control in Iraq. The MoI consists of several elements, including the Iraqi Police, Highway Patrol, Traffic Department, Emergency Response Unit, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit, and Department of Border Enforcement...
and National Security who were replaced after agreement was reached on who would fill these places.
There are four women in the 37-member cabinet: Narmin Othman
Narmin Othman
Narmin Othman is the Iraqi Minister for the Environment in the government of Nouri al-Maliki, a post she also held in the Iraqi Transitional Government...
, Bayan Dizayi, Wijdan Michael
Wijdan Michael
Wijdan Michael Salim is the current Iraqi Minister for Human Rights in the government of Nouri al-Maliki. An ethnic Assyrian and a Chaldean Catholic, she was elected as part of the Iyad Allawi's Iraqi National List...
, and Faten Mahmoud
Faten Mahmoud
Faten Mahmoud is a Minister of State for Women's Affairs in the cabinet of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. She is one of five female members of the Cabinet.-References:...
.
Cabinet Ministers:
Appointment process
Because of the weakness of the Prime Minister, individual ministers are expected to have significant independence in the running of their own departments. Particular importance was given to the Interior, Defense and Oil Ministries, and negotiations over the allocation of Ministries were lengthy.The United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
intervened on February 1 in the negotiations, calling for the Interior and Defense Ministries to be allocated to candidates who are "not regarded as sectarian". The US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad
Zalmay Khalilzad
Zalmay Mamozy Khalilzad is a counselor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and president of Khalilzad Associates, an international business consulting firm based in Washington, DC. He was the United States Ambassador to the United Nations under President George W. Bush...
threatened to withdraw military aid if this was not done. The United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw
Jack Straw (politician)
John Whitaker Straw is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Blackburn since 1979. He served as Home Secretary from 1997 to 2001, Foreign Secretary from 2001 to 2006 and Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Commons from 2006 to 2007 under Tony Blair...
also echoed this in talks with Talabani on February 20, 2006, saying these departments should be in the hands of "technocrats".
Prime Minister-designate Ibrahim al-Jaafari
Ibrahim al-Jaafari
Ibrahim abd al-Karim Hamzah al-Eshaiker al-Jafari is an Iraqi politician who was Prime Minister of Iraq in the Iraqi Transitional Government from 2005 to 2006, following the January 2005 election. He was previously one of the two Vice-Presidents of Iraq under the Iraqi Interim Government from 2004...
reacted angrily, saying "Iraqis would not accept interference in their affairs".
Security Ministers
Negotiations continued between the coalition parties over the posts of Defense, Interior and National Security Minister. It was agreed that the Defense post should go to a Sunni Arab and the Interior to a Shi'ite Arab. It was also agreed that the three would be appointed for a six-month trial period. On May 28 the former Iraqi generals Baraa Najib al-Ruba'iBaraa Najib al-Ruba'i
Baraa Najib al-Ruba'i is an Iraqi politician and a member of the National Assembly of Iraq who was proposed as a possible Defense Minister in May 2006.He comes from a princely family that oversees the Rabi’a tribe...
and Nasser al-Ameri were tipped by the Turkish Press for Defense and Interior. Maliki was reported to favour al-Ruba’i for Minister of Defense and General Tawfiq al-Yasiri for Interior Minister. Other candidates discussed in the local press were:
Defense:
- Hajim al-HassaniHajim al-HassaniHajim Mahdi Saleh al-Hassani to a prominent Kirkuki family is an Iraqi politician and was the speaker of the Iraqi National Assembly under the Iraqi Transitional Government...
- Brigadier (ret.) Thamir Sultan al-Tikriti
- Abd al-Amir Issa
Interior:
- Jawad al-Bulani
- Aqil al-Turayhi
- Muwaffaq al-Ruba'i
National Security:
- Qassim Dawud, Independent, UIA
The new ministers were finally agreed and sworn in at a meeting of the Assembly on June 8:
- Defense Minister: Qadir ObeidiQadir ObeidiLt. Gen. Abdul Qadir Mohammed Jassim Obeidi al-Mifarji was the Defence Minister of Iraq in the Council of Ministers of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki from 2006 to 2010...
- Interior Minster: Jawad al-Bulani
- National Security: Shirwan al-WailiShirwan al-WailiShirwan Kamil al-Waili is an Iraqi politician and Minister of State for National Security in the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki...
Only 198 out of 275 Assembly members were present and many were unaware of the nominees until they were announced. The Ministers required an absolute majority - 138 - to be confirmed, and received 182, 142 and 160 respectively with the IAF opposing Obeidi and Waili. The IAF had originally proposed Obeidi.
Sadrist resignations
On June 12 Al-Sabah newspaper reported that Transport Minister Karim Mahdi SalihKarim Mahdi Salih
Dr. Karim Mahdi Salih is an Iraqi politician who was the Transport Minister of Iraq in the government of Nouri al-Maliki from May 2006 until April 2007. He is a member of the Sadrist Movement within the United Iraqi Alliance....
, Minister of State for Tourism and Antiquities Liwaa Semeism
Liwaa Semeism
Liwaa Semeism is an Iraqi politician from the Sadrist Movement and the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities in the government of Nouri al-Maliki. He is a dentist and his wife is a member of the National Assembly of Iraq and related to Moqtadr al-Sadr....
and Minister of State for Governorate Affairs Saad Taher al-Hashimi may be forced to resign due to allegations of incompetence. However, Al-Mashriq newspaper claimed they were former Baath Party
Baath Party
The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party was a political party mixing Arab nationalist and Arab socialist interests, opposed to Western imperialism, and calling for the renaissance or resurrection and unification of the Arab world into a single state. Ba'ath is also spelled Ba'th or Baath and means...
members.
Iraqi Accord Front resignations
On 2006-07-01, Tayseer Najah al-Mashhadani, a female Assembly member from the Iraqi Accord FrontIraqi Accord Front
The Iraqi Accord Front or Iraqi Accordance Front also known as Tawafuq is an Iraqi Sunni-Islamist political coalition created on October 26, 2005 by the Iraqi Islamic Party to contest the December 2005 general election...
was kidnapped in Baghdad. The Accord Front accused Shiite militias of being behind the kidnapping and started a boycott of the National Assembly in protest. On July 8, they said they were considering also withdrawing their four ministers if Mashhadani was not released. She was released unharmed in September.
On 2007-08-01, the Front withdrew from the government, and its six representatives resigned. They had demanded the disbanding of Shi'ite militias, pardoning detainees who had not been charged and stopping raids.
National Security Council
On January 22 the Kurdish leaders agreed, as part of the Salahuddin Principles, to support the creation of a National Security Council, which would involve the minority parties in the running of the government, and particularly oversee the operation of the Interior and Defense Ministries.On March 19 the parties agreed to form this council, and agreed it would consist of nineteen members, headed by President Talabani, and split as follows:
- United Iraqi Alliance: 9
- Kurdistani Alliance: 4
- Iraqi Accordance Front / Iraqi Dialogue Front: 4
- Iraqi National List: 2
However on April 4 Ayatollah
Ayatollah
Ayatollah is a high ranking title given to Usuli Twelver Shī‘ah clerics. Those who carry the title are experts in Islamic studies such as jurisprudence, ethics, and philosophy and usually teach in Islamic seminaries. The next lower clerical rank is Hojatoleslam wal-muslemin...
Hadi al-Modarresi
Hadi al-Modarresi
Ayatollah Sayed Hadi Almodarresi or al-Modarresi - Early life :Born to a family with a long line of top-ranking scholars that dominated the Hawza for many years in Karbala, Iraq...
met with the most senior Shi'ite cleric, Ali al-Sistani, to complain that the creation of this council was an attempt to steal the election from the Alliance and constrain the Prime Minister. He called instead for a national referendum to resolve any disputes.
No-confidence moves
In December 2006, media reported a plot to oust Maliki in a no-confidence vote and to create a new governmental alliance between SCIRISciri
Sciri may refer to:*Scirii, people*SCIRI, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq...
, UIA
United Iraqi Alliance
The National Iraqi Alliance , also known as the Watani List, is an Iraqi electoral coalition that contested the Iraqi legislative election, 2010. The Alliance is mainly composed of Shi'a Islamist parties...
independents, the Kurdistani Alliance and Iraqi Islamic Party
Iraqi Islamic Party
The Iraqi Islamic Party is currently the largest Sunni Islamist political party in Iraq as well as the most prominent member of the Iraqi Accord Front political coalition. It is currently part of the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki...
. Adil Abdul Mahdi had been proposed as the new Prime Minister, but SCIRI
Sciri
Sciri may refer to:*Scirii, people*SCIRI, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq...
MP Hameed Maalah was quoted saying the groups hadn't yet agreed on a new leader. A Maliki aide confirmed the plot but said they intended to sabotage it. A no-confidence vote would require a simple majority but a new Prime Minister would require a two-thirds majority.
Agenda
The following matters were expected to be the most important issues for the new government to deal with:- The relationship with the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and allied military - Containing the insurgency and inter-communal violence
- Implementing and possibly amending the constitutionConstitution of IraqThe Constitution of Iraq is Iraq's fundamental law.-History:Iraq's first constitution, which established a constitutional monarchy, entered into force under the auspices of a British military occupation in 1925 and remained in effect until the 1958 revolution established a republic...
, particularly with regards federalism.*
Federalism and the Constitution
One of the main areas faced by the new government was the issue of federalism, which includes the formation of one or more Shi'ite regions, the status of Kirkuk and any possible amendment to the Constitution of IraqConstitution of Iraq
The Constitution of Iraq is Iraq's fundamental law.-History:Iraq's first constitution, which established a constitutional monarchy, entered into force under the auspices of a British military occupation in 1925 and remained in effect until the 1958 revolution established a republic...
Constitutional amendments
Under a compromise agreed in September 2005 between the United Iraqi AllianceUnited Iraqi Alliance
The National Iraqi Alliance , also known as the Watani List, is an Iraqi electoral coalition that contested the Iraqi legislative election, 2010. The Alliance is mainly composed of Shi'a Islamist parties...
, Democratic Patriotic Alliance of Kurdistan
Democratic Patriotic Alliance of Kurdistan
The Democratic Patriotic Alliance of Kurdistan sometimes referred to simply as the Kurdistan Alliance is the name of the electoral coalition first presented as a united Kurdish list in the January 2005 election in Iraq. Elections were held simultaneously for the assembly of the Kurdistan Regional...
and Iraqi Islamic Party
Iraqi Islamic Party
The Iraqi Islamic Party is currently the largest Sunni Islamist political party in Iraq as well as the most prominent member of the Iraqi Accord Front political coalition. It is currently part of the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki...
, the new Assembly would consider amendments to the constitution
Constitution of Iraq
The Constitution of Iraq is Iraq's fundamental law.-History:Iraq's first constitution, which established a constitutional monarchy, entered into force under the auspices of a British military occupation in 1925 and remained in effect until the 1958 revolution established a republic...
in its first four months. Following this compromise the Iraqi Islamic Party agreed to back the constitution in the referendum
Iraqi constitution ratification vote, 2005
The electorate of Iraq went to the polls on 15 October 2005 to vote in a referendum on whether or not to ratify the proposed constitution of Iraq. After 10 days of counting votes, the country's electoral commission announced that the constitution had been approved by a wide margin nationwide...
. A constitutional revision committee was eventually formed under the new parliament, which issued an incomplete report in 2007. Despite widespread agreement amongst a majority of parties in Iraq that the text is in need of revision, partly in order to clarify some technical issues but also in part in order to bring the constitution more closely in line with the Iraqi mainstream, the constitutional revision process has not made any progress through parliament since 2007.
Federalism
Article 114 of the constitution of Iraq provided that no new region may be created before the Iraqi National Assembly has passed a law which provides the procedures for forming the region. This law was passed on 11 October after an agreement was reached with the Iraqi Accord FrontIraqi Accord Front
The Iraqi Accord Front or Iraqi Accordance Front also known as Tawafuq is an Iraqi Sunni-Islamist political coalition created on October 26, 2005 by the Iraqi Islamic Party to contest the December 2005 general election...
to form the constitutional review committee and to defer implementation of the law for 18 months. Legislators from the Iraqi Accord Front
Iraqi Accord Front
The Iraqi Accord Front or Iraqi Accordance Front also known as Tawafuq is an Iraqi Sunni-Islamist political coalition created on October 26, 2005 by the Iraqi Islamic Party to contest the December 2005 general election...
, Sadrist Movement
Sadrist Movement
The Sadrist Movement is an Iraqi Islamist national movement led by Muqtada al-Sadr. The movement draws wide support from across Iraqi society and especially from the Shi'a poor in the country. The most important person in setting the goals and the philosophy of the movement was Grand Ayatollah...
and Islamic Virtue Party
Islamic Virtue Party
Islamic Virtue Party is an Iraqi political party. It follows ayatollah Muhammad Ya`qubi a student of Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr and thus represent a branch of the Sadrist Movement, however the party is not affiliated with Muqtada al-Sadr and is in fact a rival to his branch of the Sadrists...
all opposed the bill.
Governorate elections
Interim councils were elected in each of the Governorates of IraqGovernorates of Iraq
||Iraq is composed of 18 provinces :#Baghdād #Salāh ad-Dīn #Diyālā #Wāsit #Maysān #Al-Basrah #Dhī Qār #Al-Muthannā #Al-Qādisiyyah...
in the Iraqi Governorate elections of 2005. One of the tasks of the government was to pass a law to regulate the powers of the governorates and the process of elections. The law was finally passed by the Council of Representatives of Iraq in February 2008. It was vetoed by the Presidency Council
Presidency Council of Iraq
The Presidency Council of Iraq is an entity currently operating under the auspices of the "transitional provisions" of the Constitution of Iraq and previously under the Transitional Administrative Law....
at first, on the grounds that giving the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Iraq
The Prime Minister of Iraq is Iraq's head of government. Prime Minister was originally an appointed office, subsidiary to the head of state, and the nominal leader of the Iraqi parliament. Under the newly adopted constitution the Prime Minister is to be the country's active executive authority...
the power to dismiss Governors would contravene the constitution
Constitution of Iraq
The Constitution of Iraq is Iraq's fundamental law.-History:Iraq's first constitution, which established a constitutional monarchy, entered into force under the auspices of a British military occupation in 1925 and remained in effect until the 1958 revolution established a republic...
. However, the Council reversed its position following protests from the Sadrist Movement
Sadrist Movement
The Sadrist Movement is an Iraqi Islamist national movement led by Muqtada al-Sadr. The movement draws wide support from across Iraqi society and especially from the Shi'a poor in the country. The most important person in setting the goals and the philosophy of the movement was Grand Ayatollah...
, saying they would seek changes to the law before it came into force.
Kirkuk
Meanwhile the Kurdistan Alliance wants Kurds who were expelled from Kirkuk to be allowed to return to the city and for the Kurdish Autonomous Region to be expanded. This currently includes the governorates of As-Sulaymāniyyah, Arbīl and Dahūk, and the Kurds would like this expanded to include KirkukKirkuk
Kirkuk is a city in Iraq and the capital of Kirkuk Governorate.It is located in the Iraqi governorate of Kirkuk, north of the capital, Baghdad...
and parts or all of Diyala and Ninawa
Ninawa Governorate
Ninawa is a governorate in northern Iraq, and the Arabic name for the biblical city of Nineveh in Assyria. It has an area of and an estimated population of 2,453,000 people in 2003. Its chief city and provincial capital is Mosul, which lies across the Tigris river from the ruins of ancient...
. However, this move is opposed by Turkmen
Iraqi Turkmen
The Iraqi Turkmen are an ethnic group who mainly reside in northern Iraq. Estimates of their numbers vary dramatically, in accordance with Iraq's assimilation policies no realistic and independent census results have been revealed regarding the Iraqi Turkmen population...
and Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
s in Kirkuk and by neighbouring Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. The Iraqi newspaper, 'Al-Furat, reported 2006-03-05 that this is also opposed by Jaafari, and one of the reasons why the Kurds opposed his nomination. The al-Maliki government announced in its programme that the referendum to determine Kirkuk's status would be held on 15 November 2007.
The Kurds would also like to increase the proportion of oil revenues retained by the regions from 17% to 24%.
In August 2006 Maliki appointed a committee to "examine the status" of Kirkuk "in light of Iraq's federalist system", headed by the Sunni Arab Justice Minister Hashim al-Shibli. The committee also including the Shi'ite Independent Interior Minister Jawad Bulani
Jawad Bulani
Jawad al-Bulani served as the Interior Minister of Iraq within the Council of Ministers under Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki from 8 June 2006 to 21 December 2010. Bulani is a Shi'a independent member of the United Iraqi Alliance.Bulani's family is originally from the Diwaniyah region...
, the Turkoman Youth Minister Jasim Mohammed Jaafar
Jasim Mohammed Jaafar
Jasim Mohammed Jaafar is the Iraqi Minister for Youth & Sports in the government of Nouri al-Maliki. He was confirmed by the Iraqi National Assembly on 2006-05-20, having previously served as the Minister for Construction and Housing in the Iraqi Transitional Government.Jaafar was born in Tuz...
and four representatives from Kirkuk.
Basra violence
As soon as the government was formed members of the Basrah-based Islamic Virtue PartyIslamic Virtue Party
Islamic Virtue Party is an Iraqi political party. It follows ayatollah Muhammad Ya`qubi a student of Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr and thus represent a branch of the Sadrist Movement, however the party is not affiliated with Muqtada al-Sadr and is in fact a rival to his branch of the Sadrists...
started a "go-slow", annoyed that they had lost their control over the oil ministry. A state of emergency was imposed on June 2 and the Iraqi Army stationed at key positions. A provincial security council was appointed by Prime Minister Maliki
Maliki
The ' madhhab is one of the schools of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam. It is the second-largest of the four schools, followed by approximately 25% of Muslims, mostly in North Africa, West Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and in some parts of Saudi Arabia...
, consisting of:
- Safa al-SafiSafa al-SafiSafa al-Din Mohammed al-Safi is an Iraqi politician an former Justice Minister who is currently Minister of State for the Council of Representatives....
, Ministry of State for Parliamentary Affairs - Salam al-MalikiSalam al-MalikiSalam Aodeh al-Maliki is an Iraqi politician and was the Minister for Transport in the Iraqi Transitional Government from May 2005 to May 2006....
, Sadr Movement - Hadi Al-AmiriHadi Al-AmiriHadi Al-Amiri is the current Iraqi minister of transportation and the head of the Badr Organization, which was the military wing of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council...
, Badr OrganizationBadr OrganizationThe Badr Organization previously known as the Badr Brigades or Badr Corps is an Iraqi political party headed by Hadi al-Amiri... - Islamic Virtue PartyIslamic Virtue PartyIslamic Virtue Party is an Iraqi political party. It follows ayatollah Muhammad Ya`qubi a student of Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr and thus represent a branch of the Sadrist Movement, however the party is not affiliated with Muqtada al-Sadr and is in fact a rival to his branch of the Sadrists...
representative - Iraqi Accord FrontIraqi Accord FrontThe Iraqi Accord Front or Iraqi Accordance Front also known as Tawafuq is an Iraqi Sunni-Islamist political coalition created on October 26, 2005 by the Iraqi Islamic Party to contest the December 2005 general election...
representative - three other United Iraqi AllianceUnited Iraqi AllianceThe National Iraqi Alliance , also known as the Watani List, is an Iraqi electoral coalition that contested the Iraqi legislative election, 2010. The Alliance is mainly composed of Shi'a Islamist parties...
members
Prison Abuse
D+Z, a development magazine based in Germany, reports the current admistration reverting to Saddam era police tactics. The include torture and exrajudicial executions. It is reported that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki knew of these acts, but he claims "the stories are 'lies.'" Reports of secret prisons exist as well.Key legislation passed
The government passed the following key items of legislation:- The Federalism Law (October 2006), which provided for the formation of new Regions of Iraq
- The Unified Retirement Law (October 2007), restored pensions to former Baathists
- The Accountability and Justice Law (January 2008), also known as the de-Baathification reforms, reinstated jobs and pensions to low-ranking Baath PartyBaath PartyThe Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party was a political party mixing Arab nationalist and Arab socialist interests, opposed to Western imperialism, and calling for the renaissance or resurrection and unification of the Arab world into a single state. Ba'ath is also spelled Ba'th or Baath and means...
members, made the de-Baathification Commission permanent and extended de-Baathification to the judiciary. The law was passed by a majority vote by the Presidency Council after Vice President Tariq al-HashimiTariq Al-HashimiTariq al-Hashimi is an Iraqi politician and was general secretary of the Iraqi Islamic Party until May 2009. Along with Adil Abdul Mahdi, he is a Vice President of Iraq in the government formed after the December 2005 elections...
refused to sign.
- The General Amnesty Law (February 2008) allowed for the pardoning and release of all prisoners detained for more than 6 months without charge or 12 months without trial, unless suspected of the most serious crimes.
- The Provincial Powers Act (February 2008) was passed by a majority of only 1 and detailed the division of powers between Governorates of IraqGovernorates of Iraq||Iraq is composed of 18 provinces :#Baghdād #Salāh ad-Dīn #Diyālā #Wāsit #Maysān #Al-Basrah #Dhī Qār #Al-Muthannā #Al-Qādisiyyah...
and the federal government. The law gave the Prime Minister the power to dismiss governors. However, the Presidency Council vetoed this law, saying it violated the constitutions provisions on the powers of the governorates. It also provided for a Provincial Elections Law, to be passed within 90 days and new elections to be held by October 2008.
External links
- Official site (Arabic)
- Republic of Iraq Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Kurdistan Regional Government
- Biographies of members of Iraq's government (20 July 2006)