Adil Abdul-Mahdi al-Muntafiki(Arabic:عادل عبد المهدي المنتفكي,born 1 January 1942) is anIraqipoliticianwho served asPrime Minister of Iraqfrom October 2018 until May 2020. Abdul-Mahdi is aneconomistand was one of thevice presidents of Iraqfrom 2005 to 2011. He formerly served asMinister of Financein theInterim governmentand Oil Minister from 2014 to 2016.[5]
Adil Abdul-Mahdi | |
|---|---|
| عادل عبد المهدي | |
 Abdul-Mahdi in 2008 | |
| Prime Minister of Iraq | |
| In office 25 October 2018[1]– 7 May 2020 | |
| President | Barham Salih |
| Deputy | |
| Preceded by | Haider al-Abadi |
| Succeeded by | Mustafa Al-Kadhimi |
| Minister of Oil | |
| In office 8 September 2014 – 19 July 2016 | |
| Prime Minister | Haider al-Abadi |
| Preceded by | Abdul Karim Luaibi |
| Succeeded by | Jabbar Alluaibi |
| Vice President of Iraq | |
| In office 7 April 2005 – 11 July 2011 Serving withGhazi al-Yawer(until 2006) andTariq al-Hashimi(after 2006) | |
| President | Jalal Talabani |
| Preceded by | Rowsch Shaways |
| Succeeded by | Tariq al-Hashimi |
| Minister of Finance | |
| In office 2 June 2004 – 6 April 2005 | |
| Prime Minister | Ayad Allawi |
| Preceded by | Kamel al-Kilani |
| Succeeded by | Ali Allawi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Adil Abdul-Mahdi al-Muntafiki 1 January 1942 Baghdad,Kingdom of Iraq |
| Political party | Independent(since 2017)[2] SCIRI(1982–2017)[3] Iraqi Communist(1970s)[4] |
| Spouse | Rajah |
| Alma mater | |
Abdul-Mahdi is a former member of the powerful Shi'a party theSupreme Islamic Iraqi Council,or SIIC.[2]Long based in neighboringIran,the group opposed aUnited Statesadministration while holding close ties with the other, U.S.-backed, groups that opposedSaddam Hussein,including theKurdsand theIraqi National Congress.
Abdul-Mahdi submitted his formal resignation as prime minister in November 2019, following widespread protests over political corruption and violent police responses.[6]
Background
editMahdi was born in Baghdad in 1942, the son of a Shiitecleric,Abdul-Mahdi, originally fromDhi Qar Governorate,who was the Minister of Education in Iraq'smonarchy,and a mother fromSyria.[7]He attended high school atBaghdad College,an elite American Jesuit secondary school. After graduating, he attendedBaghdad University,where he earned aBachelor of Artsdegree ineconomicsin 1963. He worked as a secretary for the Iraqi foreign ministry in 1965 and was an early supporter of theIraqi Ba'ath Party,but left due to ideological disagreements. In 1969, he moved toFrancewhere he worked for Frenchthink tanksand edited magazines in French and Arabic. In 1972 he obtained anotherMaster of Artsdegree in political economy from theUniversity of Poitiers.He later obtained a PhD in economics.[8]Abdul-Mahdi is a French citizen, as are his children, and he returned to Iraq after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003.[9]
Political career
editIn the 1970s, Abdul-Mahdi was a leading member of theIraqi Communist Party.[10]The party split into two separate factions, the ICP-Central Committee, which was more accommodating of the military governments that had ruled Iraq since 1958, and theICP-Central Leadership,which rejected all forms of cooperation of what it regarded as anti-progressive regimes, in 1967. Abdul-Mahdi joined the ICP-Central Leadership, and continued being active until he was expelled in and formed his ownsplinterclaiming to be the legitimate ICP-Central Leadership. Both the ICP-Central Leadership and Abdul-Mahdi's splinter gradually disappeared by the early 1980s. By that time, Abdul-Mahdi adoptedIranianIslamicideas, eventually merging with the Islamists whenAyatollah Khomeinieradicated the communists and liberal opposition groups inIran.Abdul-Mahdi continued his association with Iran and gradually amalgamated his group within the ICP-Central Leadership with the Iranians, rejecting hisMarxistpast and devoting all his group's time to propagating Khomeini's ideas inFrance,where he lived at the time. He eventually was made a member of theSupreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq,an exiled opposition party and militia that was formed by Iran in Tehran in 1982 but composed exclusively of Iraqi exiles.[11]
In 2006, Abdul-Mahdi, outgoing Vice President in thetransitional government,unsuccessfully ran for theUnited Iraqi Alliance's nomination for Prime Minister against incumbentIbrahim al-Jaafari.He lost by one vote. He was reportedly considered to be a possibility for Prime Minister once again untilNouri al-Malikibecame theUIAnominee. Subsequently, Abdul-Mahdi was re-elected asVice President of Iraq.He exerted his limited authority in that role by delaying the first meeting of the National Assembly in March. He resigned from his position as vice-president on 31 May 2011.[12]
In December 2006, the Associated Press reported that Abdul-Mahdi could be the next Prime Minister of Iraq if a new multi-sectarian coalition succeeded in toppling the government ofNouri al-Maliki.[13]
On 26 February 2007, he survived an assassination attempt that killed ten people. He had been targeted two times prior.[14]
In 2009, his bodyguards were the perpetrators of a bloody bank robbery in Baghdad.[15]
In July 2013, Abdul-Mahdi announced his decision to give up his retirement pensions as a former vice president.[16]
On 2 October 2018, Iraqi presidentBarham Salihselected Abdul-Mahdi to be the Prime Minister of Iraq. Mahdi had 30 days to form a new government.[2]On 25 October 2018, Abdul Mahdi was sworn into office, five months after the2018 elections.[17]
In April 2019, Abdul-Mahdi met withGermanChancellorAngela MerkelinBerlin.He announced a $14 billion plan to upgrade Iraq's electricity infrastructure, with likely cooperation with German companySiemens.Merkel also pledged to strengthen economic and security cooperation between the two countries, and to continue German support for reconstruction efforts in Iraq.[18]
Resignation
editOn 29 November 2019, afterweeks of violent protests,Mahdi stated that he would resign from his post.[19][20]The Iraqi parliament approved his resignation on 1 December 2019.
References
edit- ^"H.E. Prime Minister Adil Abd Al-Mahdi receives a call from U.S secretary of Defense Mark Esper".pmo.iq.
- ^abcSalaheddin, Sinah (3 October 2018)."Iraq tasks Shiite independent with forming new government".Associated Press. Archived fromthe originalon 4 October 2018.Retrieved16 October2018.
- ^"عادل عبد المهدي".Al Jazeera.
- ^Doug Struck (14 February 2015)."Prospective Iraqi Premier a Man of Many Labels".Washington Post.Retrieved3 October2018.
- ^Chulov, Martin (3 October 2018)."Iraqi president names Adel Abdul-Mahdi as next prime minister".The Guardian.
- ^Rubin, Alissa J.; Hassan, Falih (30 November 2019)."Iraqi Prime Minister Resigns in Deepening Political Crisis".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved13 February2022.
- ^"Iraq's consensus prime minister walks a political tightrope".ft.Retrieved16 December2023.
- ^Adil Adbul Mahdi Iraq’s New Prime Minister.
- ^MacDonald, Alex (9 April 2021)."Iraq: Activists hopeful in French legal case against former PM Abdul Mahdi".Middle East Eye.
- ^"Abdul-Mahdi: The man tasked with forming Iraq's new government".Rudaw. 3 October 2018.Retrieved4 October2018.
- ^Ismail, Tariq (2008).The Rise and Fall of the Communist Party of Iraq.Cambridge University Press. p. 239.ISBN978-0-521-87394-9.
- ^"اخبار رسیده از بغداد پایتخت عراق حاکی از آن است که" عادل عبدالمهدی "از سمت خود استعفا داد".tabnak.ir(in Persian).Retrieved11 April2023.
- ^Hamza Hendawi; Qassim Abdul Zahra (10 December 2006)."Talks Under Way to Replace Iraq PM".The Washington Post.Baghdad. AP.Retrieved27 December2012.
- ^Sly, Liz (27 February 2007)."VP survives assassination try in Iraq".Chicago Tribune.Baghdad.Retrieved27 December2012.
- ^Rod Nordland; Riyadh Mohammed (2 September 2009)."In Bank Killings, Highs and Lows of Iraq Justice".The New York Times.Retrieved4 October2018.
- ^Hussein, Ahmed (30 July 2013)."Adil Abdul Mahdi gives up his pensions".Iraqi News.Retrieved3 October2018.
- ^"Prime Minister Abdul-Mahdi sworn in with 14 ministers, so far".Rudaw.
- ^Şimşek, Ayhan (30 April 2019)."Merkel: Germany supports territorial integrity of Iraq".Anadolu Agency.Retrieved5 May2019.
- ^Iraqi PM says he will resign after weeks of killing protests- Guardian(29 November 2019)
- ^Iraq unrest: PM Abdul Mahdi to resign after bloodiest day in protests- BBC(29 December 2019)
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