Colonel General Colonel general is a military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically General officer#Old European system, general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, ...

Adnan Khairallah (; 1940 – 4 May 1989) was an Iraqi military officer and Saddam Hussein's brother in-law and cousin. He held several titles and was a member of the

Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council The Revolutionary Command Council () was the ultimate decision-making body in Ba'athist Iraq. Established after the 17 July Revolution, 1968 Iraqi coup, It exercised both executive power, executive and legislative authority in the country, wit ...

. He also served as the Defence Minister of Iraq from 1979 until his death a decade later, being appointed days after Saddam Hussein succeeded to the

Presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

. He died in 1989 in a helicopter crash that was officially labeled an accident. The circumstances surrounding his death, including his disputes with Saddam and rumors of a potential coup, have led some to believe Adnan was assassinated under orders from Saddam.

Early life and education

Adnan was born in

Tikrit Tikrit ( ) is a city in Iraq, located northwest of Baghdad and southeast of Mosul on the Tigris River. It is the administrative center of the Saladin Governorate. In 2012, it had a population of approximately 160,000. Originally created as a f ...

in 1940, the son of

Khairallah Talfah Khairallah Talfah ( ; 1910 – 20 April 1993) was an Iraqi military officer, politician, and author. He was the maternal uncle and father-in-law of Saddam Hussein. He was the father of Saddam's first wife Sajida Talfah and of Iraqi defense mini ...

, an

Arab nationalist Arab nationalism () is a political ideology asserting that Arabs constitute a single nation. As a traditional nationalist ideology, it promotes Arab culture and civilization, celebrates Arab history, the Arabic language and Arabic literatur ...

officer in the

Iraqi Army The Iraqi Ground Forces (Arabic: القوات البرية العراقية), also referred to as the Iraqi Army (Arabic: الجيش العراقي), is the ground force component of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It was formerly known as the Royal Iraq ...

who was later involved in the

1941 Iraqi coup d'état The 1941 Iraqi coup d'état (, ''Thawrah Rašīd ʿAlī al-Kaylānī''), also called the Rashid Ali Al-Gaylani coup or the Golden Square coup, was a nationalist coup d'état in Iraq on 1 April 1941 that overthrew the pro-British regime of Regent ...

and the ensuing

Anglo-Iraqi War The Anglo-Iraqi War was a British-led Allies of World War II, Allied military campaign during the Second World War against the Kingdom of Iraq, then ruled by Rashid Ali al-Gaylani who had seized power in the 1941 Iraqi coup d'état with assista ...

. Adnan's father was also the maternal uncle of

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...

, who would later marry Adnan's sister,

Sajida Sajida is an Arabic given name for women. People named Sajida include: * Sajida Mohamed (born 1978), First Lady of the Maldives since 2023 * Sajida Sultan, Begum of Bhopal (1915–1995), Indian royalty * Sajida Alvi (born 1941), Canadian academ ...

. Adnan attended the

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

Military College and the Staff College, and later graduated with a degree from the Baghdad University School of Law and Politics in 1975. Since he was fourteen years old, he used to carry a camera with him and he owned an archive of photos of Saddam Hussein and the family and a large collection of photos of the areas in which he served, which tell the story of the development of Iraqi cities and districts

Ba'ath Party

Adnan joined the Iraqi branch of the

Ba'ath Party The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party ( ' ), also known simply as Bath Party (), was a political party founded in Syria by Michel Aflaq, Salah al-Din al-Bitar, and associates of Zaki al-Arsuzi. The party espoused Ba'athism, which is an ideology ...

in 1956. He was arrested in 1959 following an unsuccessful attempt by the party to assassinate then-

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 ...

Abd al-Karim Qasim Abdul-Karim Qasim Muhammad Bakr al-Fadhli Al-Qaraghuli al-Zubaidi ( ' ; 21 November 1914 – 9 February 1963) was an Iraqi military officer and statesman who served as the Prime Minister and de facto leader of Iraq from 1958 until his ...

. Adnan would later go on to play a role in the

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

and

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

coups that brought the Ba'ath party to power. In 1977, Adnan was appointed as the new Minister of Defence, taking over from

Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr Field Marshal Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr (1 July 1914 – 4 October 1982) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fourth president of Iraq, from 17 July 1968 to 15 July 1979. He was a leading member of the revolutionary Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party a ...

, then Iraqi President and Secretary of the Iraqi Regional Command of the Ba'ath Party. He was also appointed Minister of State, and held membership ini both the Ba'ath Party Regional Command and the Revolutionary Command Council, the primary decision-making body in Iraq. In 1979, he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister. Adnan Khairallah with Saddam

Adnan served as Iraqi Minister of Defence throughout the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...

, and was appointed Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, second only to Saddam Hussein. In this position, he played a crucial role in rebuilding and modernizing the Iraqi military. During his travels, he established relationships and friendships with all the Iraqi people, regardless of their sects and denominations. As there was a Jewish doctor named Eliyahu, who served in the army.

Rift with Saddam

In November 1988,

Uday Hussein Uday Saddam Hussein (; 18 June 1964 – 22 July 2003) was an Iraqi politician and businessman. He was the eldest son of Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and his first wife Sajida Talfah. Owing to his family connections, Uday held various roles i ...

, Adnan's nephew and Saddam Hussein's eldest child, was arrested under orders from Saddam following an incident in which Uday was accused of killing Kamel Hana Gegeo, an officer serving as one of Saddam's presidential bodyguards. The scandal caused a rift in the family, with Uday's mother and Adnan's sister, Sajida, appealing to Adnan for help. Adnan then disappeared from public view, amid reports of unrest in the army, a potential coup, and the arrest of several military officers, prompting speculation about the involvement of Adnan in a coup attempt against Saddam. Adnan later resurfaced in early 1989 when video footage was released showing Adnan, Sajida, and Saddam on a fishing holiday near

Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...

. Following his return to public view, he resumed his regular duties as Defence Minister.

Death and aftermath

On 7 May 1989, Saddam Hussein announced that Adnan had died three days earlier in a helicopter crash. Adnan had been travelling by helicopter from Baghdad to

Kurdistan region Kurdistan Region (KRI) is a semi-autonomous Federal regions of Iraq, federal region of the Iraq, Republic of Iraq. It comprises four Kurds, Kurdish-majority governorates of Arabs, Arab-majority Iraq: Erbil Governorate, Sulaymaniyah Governorate ...

to inspect army positions when he had his flight diverted to meet several members of the Presidential family in the mountain resort of Sarsang, near

Dohuk Duhok (; ; , ) is a city in Kurdistan Region, Iraq. It is the Capital (political), capital city of Duhok Governorate. Name The city of Duhok received its name from the Kurdish languages, Kurdish words ’du’ (two) and ’hok’ (lump) as a ...

. While en route, his helicopter and two escorting helicopters were caught in a sandstorm. The crew of the two escorting helicopters and one person travelling on Adnan's helicopter survived. Announcing Adnan's death, Saddam referred to him as "one of the distinguished war heroes and a sparkling star in Iraq's sky." Baghdad Radio announced that Adnan would be given a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...

and buried in his hometown of

. A statue was also erected in Baghdad in his memory. Although labeled an accident, speculation surrounded his death due to the detonation of four explosive charges on the helicopter he was in. Saddam's son-in-law

Hussein Kamel al-Majid Colonel General Hussein Kamel Hassan al-Majid () (1954 – 23 February 1996) was an Iraqi military officer and the son-in-law and first cousin once removed of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. He defected to Jordan and assisted United ...

was accused of helping to orchestrate Adnan's death. Although a relative of Saddam's, Adnan remained a popular figure even after the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

and a square named in his honour exists to this day in the al-Karkh area of

where his statue continued to stand following the fall of Baghdad in 2003, unlike those of other Saddam-era figures which were all immediately removed after the invasion. Reevaluation of Adnan's actions led to the removal of his statue in 2009.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khairallah, Adnan Tulfah family 1989 deaths University of Baghdad alumni Members of the Regional Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Iraq Ministers of defence of Iraq Iraqi generals Iraqi military personnel of the Iran–Iraq War 1940 births Iraqi Military Academy alumni Victims of helicopter accidents or incidents Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1989