Hazim al-Shaalan al-Khuzaei (born 1947) was

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 ...

's defence minister from June 2004 until May 2005 under the Iraqi Interim Government of

Ayad Allawi Ayad Allawi (; also spelled Iyad or Eyad; born 31 May 1944) is an Iraqi-British politician and neurologist. 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 ...

. Shaalan was born in Diwaniyya, southern

, into a leading family of the

Ghazal ''Ghazal'' is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry that often deals with topics of spiritual and romantic love. It may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss, or separation from the beloved, and t ...

tribe. He is a

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

. He graduated from

Baghdad University The University of Baghdad (UOB) (, also known as Baghdad University) is a public research university in Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the ...

with a degree in

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

and was an inspector general of the Iraqi Real Estate Bank from 1983 until he left Iraq in 1985. He managed a real estate firm in London until the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

in 1990, after which he returned to Iraq. What has happened to Iraq's missing $1bn?
, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 2005-09-19 An Iranian news agency reported documents showing that al-Shaalan had been a member 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 ...

's secret police, the Mukhabarat. He was

's defence minister from June 2004 until May 2005 under the Iraqi Interim Government of Ayad Allawi. He appointed

Ziyad Cattan Ziyad Cattan is a dual citizen of Poland and Iraq. He earned a PhD in Economics. During the twenty years he lived in Poland Cattan operated both a used car and a pizza companies. According to an article published in ''The Independent'', on 19 Sep ...

, as the Defence Ministry's procurement chief, who has since fallen under suspicion of involvement in the greatest theft in history: embezzling $US1 billion intended for weapons purchase. Al-Shaalan had received an exemption from the cabinet for having his ministry's expenditures overseen by the cabinet's audit committee. Al-Shaalan claimed that the

Coalition Provisional Authority The Coalition Provisional Authority (; , CPA) was a Provisional government, transitional government of Iraq established following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, invasion of the country on 19 March 2003 by Multi-National Force – Iraq, U.S.-led Co ...

's interim administrator of Iraq,

Paul Bremer Lewis Paul Bremer III (born September 30, 1941) is a retired American diplomat. He was the second ''de facto'' head of state of Iraq as leader of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) following the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United State ...

, had signed off the appointment of Cattan, but Bremer claims he had never heard of Cattan. In August 2004 he said Iran was hostile to Iraq's government. However this was odd considering many claim that he was close to Iran.

Ali Allawi Ali Abdul-Amir Allawi (Arabic: علي عبد الامير علاوي; born 1947) is an Iraqi politician and scholar. From May 2020 to August 2022, he ran as Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister. He resigned from the post of finance ...

, the finance minister in the

Iraqi Transitional Government The Iraqi Transitional Government was the government of Iraq from May 3, 2005, when it replaced the Iraqi Interim Government, until May 20, 2006, when it was replaced by a permanent government. On April 28 it was approved by the transitional ...

, accused al-Shaalan of embezzlement in 2005, and Iraq's anti-corruption watchdog, the Commission for Public Integrity, sought to bar him from running in the following parliamentary elections. Shaalan and Cattan left Iraq in 2005 for

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

. In May 2007 al-Shaalan was convicted in absentia of embezzlement and sentenced to 7 years' imprisonment. An investigation by the BBC in 2008 claimed he was using a private jet to fly around the world and still owns commercial properties near

Marble Arch The Marble Arch is a 19th-century white marble-faced triumphal arch in London, England. The structure was designed by John Nash in 1827 as the state entrance to the cour d'honneur of Buckingham Palace; it stood near the site of what is today th ...

in London. The January 2012 report from the US

Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction The Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) (October 2004–October 2013) was created as the successor to the Coalition Provisional Authority Office of Inspector General (CPA-IG). SIGIR was an independent governmen ...

said that the crimes were covered by Amnesty legislation passed by the Council of Representatives of Iraq in 2008 and that Shaalan was "living comfortably abroad".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaalan, Hazim al- 1947 births University of Baghdad alumni Governors of Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate Living people Iraqi List politicians Ministers of defence of Iraq