As currently constituted, the state of Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

 has two vice presidents

Vice president

A vice president is an officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning 'in place of'. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president...

or deputy presidents. The office of Vice President is largely ceremonial but prestigious. The current 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...

, in its "Transitional Guidelines," creates a three-member Presidency (or Presidential) 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....

, consisting of the President of the Republic

President of Iraq

The 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...

 and two vice (or deputy) presidents, who must act in unison. The Presidency Council has three members to accommodate Iraq's three largest groups: Sunni Muslim Arabs, Shiite Muslim Arabs, and (mostly Sunni) Kurds. As a unit, the Presidency Council is meant to symbolize the unity of the nation. This arrangement is required by the constitution to continue until the parliament

Parliament

A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...

, or Council of Representatives

National Assembly of Iraq

The Council of Representatives of Iraq is the main elected body of representatives in Iraq. It is currently composed of 325 seats and meets in Baghdad inside the International Zone . It is governed by bylaws that can be found -The monarchy:...

, enters its second set of sessions. At this point, the Presidency Council would be replaced by a solitary President of the Republic, who would also have one deputy. In any case, the Presidency is appointed by the Council of Representatives.

This three-member arrangement is a hold-over from the Iraqi interim government

Iraqi Interim Government

The Iraqi Interim Government was created by the United States and its coalition allies as a caretaker government to govern Iraq until the Iraqi Transitional Government was installed following the Iraqi National Assembly election conducted on January 30, 2005...

 and 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....

.

On 13 May 2011, three vice-presidents were elected.

Vice-Presidents in the former regime

The former regime 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...

 also used the office of Vice President. Saddam himself held the title to 1979, when he established complete dominance over the state. Hardan al-Tikriti

Hardan al-Tikriti

Hardan ’Abdul Ghaffar al-Tikriti was a senior Iraqi Air Force commander, Iraqi politician and ambassador who was assassinated on the orders of Saddam Hussein, the then vice chairman of the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council....

 (1969–1970), Salih Mahdi Ammash and Taha Muhie-eldin Marouf

Taha Muhie-eldin Marouf

Taha Muhie-eldin Marouf was an Iraqi politician and served as Vice President of Iraq from 1975 until the U.S. invasion in 2003.-Political life:Marouf joined the Baath Party in 1968 and held several ministerial posts....

 also served as Vice-Presidents. The most recent Baathist to hold the office was Taha Yassin Ramadan

Taha Yassin Ramadan

Taha Yasin Ramadan al-Jizrawi was a prominent Iraqi Kurd, serving as Vice President of Iraq from March 1991 to the fall of Saddam Hussein in April 2003....

, from 1991 to 2003.

Vice-Presidents in the new democratic Iraq

Name	Picture	Born-Died	Took Office	Left Office	Political Party
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...		1947–	1 June 2004	7 April 2005	Islamic Da'awa Party
Rowsch Shaways Rowsch Shaways Rowsch Nuri Shaways is a Kurdish politician who first served as Prime Minister of the KDP-controlled part of Kurdistan. After the invasion he served as one of Iraq's two vice presidents in the interim government established in 2004...		1947–	1 June 2004	7 April 2005	Kurdistan Democratic Party
Adil Abdul-Mahdi Adil Abdul-Mahdi Adil 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....		1942–	6 April 2005	31 May 2011	Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq
Ghazi al-Yawar		1942–	6 April 2005	22 April 2006
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...		1942–	22 April 2006	Present	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...
Khodair al-Khozaei Khodair al-Khozaei Dr. Khodair al-Khozaei is the Iraqi Minister of Education and a member of the Islamic Dawa Party - Iraq Organisation party.He was appointed by Prime Minister Maliki in May 2006....		1947–	13 May 2011	Present	Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq