The Iraqi Independence Party (, ''Hizb al-Istiqlal al-Iraqi'') was an Iraqi nationalist political party founded in December 1945 that supported the independence of

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 ...

from

British colonialism The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts establish ...

.Ghareeb, Edmund A.; Dougherty, Beth K. ''Historical Dictionary of Iraq''. Lanham, Maryland and Oxford: The Scarecrow Press, Ltd., 2004. Pp. 103-104.

History

Its origins began with the predecessor

Al-Muthanna Club The Al-Muthanna Club () was an influential pan-Arabism, pan-Arab Fascism, fascist society established in Baghdad ca. 1935 to 1937 which remained active until May 1941, when the coup d'état of pro-Nazi Rashid Ali al-Gaylani failed. It was named a ...

and many of its members had supported the pro-Axis and anti-British 1941 coup by Rashid Ali al-Gaylani. In 1956 the party was merged alongside 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 ...

, the

Iraqi Communist Party The Iraqi Communist Party ( '; ) is a communist party and the oldest active party in Iraq. Since its foundation in 1934, it has dominated the left in Iraqi politics. It played a prominent role in shaping the political history of Iraq between it ...

and the National Democratic Party into the National Union Front. The party was right-leaning ideologically, and strengthened by a strong base of popular support, and alongside the Liberal Party and the National Democratic Party, managed to provide a vigorous opposition to the ruling Constitution Union Party. The party won the most seats of any single part in the 1948 election, although lost all but one seat in

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...

. The party later made a small comeback in the September 1954 election. The party cooperated with the Iraqi Free Officers movement from 1953 onward to push for reforms to the government that eventually resulted in the overthrow of the Iraqi monarchy in 1958. The party had its own newspaper, '' Liwa al-Istiqlal'' (Flag of Independence).

References

1945 establishments in Iraq 1956 disestablishments in Iraq Defunct political parties in Iraq Iraqi nationalism Nationalist parties in Iraq Political parties disestablished in 1956 Political parties established in 1945 Antisemitism in Iraq {{Iraq-party-stub

History

See also

References