Khaled Yassin al-Obaidi (born 1959) is an

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

i politician who served as the defense minister of Iraq from 2014 to 2016.

Background

Khalid Yassin al-Obaidi is a

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagree ...

who was born in Mosul. He belongs to the

al-Obaidi Al-Obaidi ( ar, العبيد, Al-Ubaidi or Al-Obeidi) is one of the Arab tribes in Iraq settled around Al Jazira, Mesopotamia. It hails from the tribe of Zubaid, which itself is an offshoot of the ancient Yemenite tribe Madh'hij. The tribe was an i ...

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

tribal confederation. al-Obaidi is a member of the Iraqi parliament's Itihad al-Quwa al-Wataniyah bloc. He holds two

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in engineering and

military science Military science is the study of military processes, institutions, and behavior, along with the study of warfare, and the theory and application of organized coercive force. It is mainly focused on theory, method, and practice of producing mil ...

as well as a doctorate in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

. He served in the

Iraqi Air Force The Iraqi Air Force (IQAF or IrAF) ( ar, القوات الجوية العراقية, Al Quwwat al Jawwiyah al Iraqiyyah}) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It is responsible for the defense of Iraqi airspace as well ...

, specialising in engineering aircraft engines until 2003 when he was appointed as a university professor by the

Ministry of Higher Education {{Unreferenced, date=March 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) A Ministry of Higher Education is a government department that focuses on the provision or regulation of institutions of higher education. In some countries these exist as ministries compounde ...

. He was appointed as the Technical Education Authority by the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

in 2007 and has also served as a security advisor for the President of the Parliament. He was nominated for the post of Defense Minister and accepted by the Prime Minister

Nouri Al-Maliki Nouri Kamil Muhammad-Hasan al-Maliki ( ar, نوري المالكي; born 20 June 1950), also known as Jawad al-Maliki (), is secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party and was the prime minister of Iraq from 2006 to 2014 and the vice president ...

in 2010 but was rejected by

Ayad Allawi Ayad Allawi ( ar, إيَاد عَلَّاوِي ; born 31 May 1944) is an Iraqi politician. He served as the vice president of Iraq from 2014 to 2015 and 2016 to 2018. Previously he was interim prime minister of Iraq from 2004 to 2005 and the p ...

, the Iraqi National List founder. He was also a

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

in the

Iraqi Army The Iraqi Ground Forces (Arabic: القوات البرية العراقية), or the Iraqi Army (Arabic: الجيش العراقي), is the ground force component of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It was known as the Royal Iraqi Army up until the coup ...

Defence Minister

On 18 October 2014, he was appointed as the Defence Minister of Iraq. In August 2016, al-Obeidi was voted out of power through a no-confidence vote in the parliament, with majority of lawmakers voting against him over allegations of corruption. He is the first incumbent defence minister to receive a no-confidence vote in Iraq after the

invasion of Iraq in 2003 The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

. Othman Ghanm was appointed to succeed him as the

interim An interim is a period of temporary pause or change in a sequence of events, or a temporary state, and is often applied to transitional political entities. Interim may also refer to: Temporary organizational arrangements (general concept) *Provis ...

Defence Minister by the Iraqi government on 29 August 2016.

Later career

In December 2017 an MP reported that an arrest warrant had been issued for al-Obaidi. Warrants were issued for 48 defence officials in total, including the air force commander. al-Obaidi later shifted to the Azem Alliance. Prime Minister

Mustafa Al-Kadhimi Mustafa Abdul Latif Mishatat ( ar, مصطفى عبد اللطيف مشتت; born 5 July 1967), known as Mustafa al-Kadhimi, alternatively spelt Mustafa al-Kadhimy, is an Iraqi politician, lawyer and bureaucrat and former intelligence officer who ...

appointed him as the head of the operations section of the

Iraqi National Intelligence Service The Iraqi National Intelligence Service (INIS) is an intelligence agency of the Iraqi government that was created in April 2004 on the transitional authority of the Coalition Provisional Authority, following the American invasion of Iraq a year ...

on 14 September 2020.

References

Living people 1959 births People from Mosul Government ministers of Iraq University of Belgrade alumni {{Iraq-politician-stub