Jamil Al Midfai (Arabic: جميل المدفعي; (1958 – 1890)) was an

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

i politician. He served as the country's

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

on five separate occasions.

Biography

Born in the town of

Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...

, Midfai served in the Ottoman army during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, but deserted in 1916 to take part in the

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

Arab Revolt The Arab Revolt ( ), also known as the Great Arab Revolt ( ), was an armed uprising by the Hashemite-led Arabs of the Hejaz against the Ottoman Empire amidst the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. On the basis of the McMahon–Hussein Co ...

. After the war, he was an aide to the Emir Faisal during his brief reign in

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. He returned to Iraq in 1920, but was soon forced into exile in Transjordan because of his anti-

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

nationalist activities. Upon his return in 1923, he served in various senior provincial capacities and finally joined the cabinet in 1930. He was elected as the president of the Chamber of Deputies from December 1930 to November 1931, and from November 1931 to November 1933. As a seasoned politician and two-time prime minister, he was asked to form a new government in August 1937, following the assassination of General

Bakr Sidqi Bakr Sidqi al-Askari (; 1890 – 11 August 1937) was an Iraqi general of mixed Arab- Kurdish origin, Sidqi, the Chief of the Iraq General Staff of the nation's military, was born in 1890 and assassinated on 11 August 1937, in Mosul. a Kurdish ...

, who had ruled the country as a military dictator for almost a year. A staunch

monarchist Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. C ...

, Midfai was again forced into exile to Transjordan following the short-lived pro-

Axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...

coup by Rashid Ali al-Kaylani in 1941. Upon his return to Iraq, he served in various senior capacities including President of the Senate of Iraq in the 1950s, and briefly as prime minister after the suspension of political activities during the Iraqi Intifada. He died on 26 October 1958 suffering from lung cancer.

Fourth Ministry

When the Crown Prince

'Abd al-Ilah Abd al-Ilah of Hejaz () (; also written Abdul Ilah or Abdullah; 14 November 1913 – 14 July 1958) was a cousin and brother-in-law of Ghazi of Iraq, King Ghazi of the Kingdom of Iraq, Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq and was regent for his nephew Fai ...

came back to Baghdad in 1 June 1941, He summoned Midfai to Him and after careful consultations, the opinion settled on Midfai to form a new government, so the Prince sent Him the following letter: The circumstances in which Al-Madfai was tasked with forming his fifth cabinet were strict and required the appointment of ministers and determining their responsibilities so quickly that he could not think about the extent of the cooperation that would take place between him and his associates in the management of state affairs in these circumstances. And accordingly, the royal will was issued on the second day of June 1941 to appoint:History of the ministries of Iraq, Part 6 page 6 - 'Abd al-Razzaq al-Hasani
archived copy in Arabic
/ref> #Jamil Al-Midfai: the Prime Minister #

Ali Jawdat al-Aiyubi Ali Jawdat Al-Ayyubi (; November 11, 1886 – March 3, 1969) was Prime Minister of Iraq from 1934–1935, 1949–1950, and in the latter half of 1957. Early education and careers Ali Jawdat Al-Ayyubi was born in Mosul in 1886 while Ira ...

: Minister of Foreign Affairs # Mustafa Mahmud al-Umari: Minister of Interior # Nadhif Al-Shawi: Minister of Defense # Ibrahim Kemal:

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

and Minister of Justice # Jalal Baban: Minister of Works and Communications # Nasrat al-Farisi: Minister of economy # Mohammed Ridha Al-Shabibi: Minister of Knowledge.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Midfai, Jamil 1890 births 1958 deaths Arab people from the Ottoman Empire People from Mosul Ottoman Military Academy alumni Ottoman Army officers Ottoman military personnel of World War I Prime ministers of Iraq Finance ministers of Iraq Presidents of the Senate of Iraq Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies of Iraq Iraqi exiles Iraqi monarchists