Saleh Muhammed al-Mutlaq (; born 1 July 1947) is an Iraqi politician who is the head of the Iraqi Front for National Dialogue, the fifth largest political list in Iraq's parliament. From 21 December 2010 to 11 August 2015, he was one of the three deputy prime ministers of Iraq.

Early life and education

Al-Mutlaq was born in

Fallujah Fallujah ( ) is a city in Al Anbar Governorate, Iraq. Situated on the Euphrates, Euphrates River, it is located roughly to the west of the capital city of Baghdad and from the neighboring city of Ramadi. The city is located in the region ...

into the Jubur Tribe on 1 July 1947. He attended school in

Habbaniyah Al Habbaniyah or Habbaniya (, ''al-Ḥabbānīyah'') is a city 85 km (53 mi) west of Baghdad in Al-Anbar Province, in central Iraq. A military airfield, RAF Habbaniya, was the site of a battle in 1941, during World War II. Lake Habbaniyah is als ...

, and went on to graduate from the

University of Baghdad The University of Baghdad (UOB) (, also known as Baghdad University) is a public university, public research university in Baghdad, Iraq. It is the largest university in Iraq and the tenth largest in the Arab world. History The College of Isl ...

in 1968. He later completed his PhD at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

, graduating in 1974.

Politics

Mutlaq was an active member of the Ba'ath Party, but was expelled in 1977 after criticizing the government and insisting that 5 Shiite men accused of plotting against the state should receive a fair trial. Mutlaq then pursued a successful career in farming, before returning to politics after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, being appointed to the committee tasked with writing a new constitution. Mutlaq however voted against the new constitution due to the provision which outlawed the Ba'ath Party. Mutlaq later joined the Iraqi Front for National Dialogue, a Sunni Arab-led Iraqi political list formed to contest the December 2005 elections. The Front alleges it is not sectarian. Mutlaq told

Al Arabiya Arabiya (, transliterated: '; meaning "The Arabic One" or "The Arab One") is a Saudi state-owned international Arabic news television channel. It is based in Riyadh and is a subsidiary of MBC Group. The channel is a flagship of the media c ...

television "The majority of the National Dialogue Council insists that the list is a national list that includes Iraqis from Al-Basrah to Al-Sulaymaniyyah." The Front platform calls an end to the presence of foreign troops and to rebuild government institutions. It also plans to focus on Iraq's economic and security problems. Its main components are the Iraqi National Front, the National Front for a Free and United Iraq and the Iraqi Christian Democratic Party of Minas. The Front performed relatively well in the December 2005 election, winning 11 seats, but complained of widespread electoral fraud and called for a re-run of the poll. Western observers and the United Nations said the poll was largely free and fair. According to

BBC World News BBC News is an international English-language pay television channel owned by BBC Global News Ltd. – a subsidiary of BBC Studios – and operated by the BBC News division of the BBC. The network carries news bulletins, documentaries, an ...

, Mutlaq wants all sects and ethnic groups to set aside their differences. Mutlaq was appointed as a Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq alongside Hussain al-Shahristani under

Prime Minister of Iraq The prime minister of the Republic of Iraq is the head of government of Iraq and the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces. On 27 October 2022, Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani became the incumbent prime minister. History The prime minist ...

Nouri al-Maliki Nouri Kamil Muhammad-Hasan al-Maliki (; born 20 June 1950), also known as Jawad al-Maliki (), is an Iraqi politician and leader of the Islamic Dawa Party since 2007. He served as the Prime Minister of Iraq from 2006 to 2014 and as Vice President ...

. He was reappointed as the Deputy Prime Minister alongside Hoshyar Zebari and Baha Araji under the government of new Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. He was removed from office on 11 August 2015 by the Iraqi parliament which also voted to remove the three posts of deputy prime ministers and vice presidents.

Personal life

Mutlaq and his family have been subjected to threats and violence, with his brother being kidnapped and murdered following the 2005 elections, and several of his bodyguards also having been murdered. As a result of this his wife and son live in Amman, Jordan.

References

External links

Iraqs Political Refugees in limbo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mutlaq, Saleh Living people 1947 births University of Baghdad alumni Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Deputy prime ministers of Iraq Members of the Council of Representatives of Iraq Iraqi National Dialogue Front politicians Government ministers of Iraq People from Fallujah