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The Iraqi Interim Government was created by the United States and its coalition allies as a
caretaker government A caretaker government, also known as a caretaker regime, is a temporary ''ad hoc'' government that performs some governmental duties and functions in a country until a regular government is elected or formed. Depending on specific practice, it co ...
to govern
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 ...
until the drafting of the new constitution following the National Assembly election conducted on January 30, 2005. The Iraqi Interim Government itself took the place of 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 ...
(and the Iraq Interim Governing Council) on June 28, 2004, and was replaced by the Iraqi Transitional Government on May 3, 2005.


Organization

The Iraqi Interim Government was recognized by the
U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
, the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
, the
Arab League The Arab League (, ' ), officially the League of Arab States (, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world. The Arab League was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945, initially with seven members: Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, ...
and several other countries as being the
sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title that can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to ...
government of Iraq (see Iraqi sovereignty for more information). The U.S. retained significant de facto power in the country and critics contend that the government existed only at the pleasure of the United States and other coalition countries and considered it a
U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
puppet government, whose military forces still remain in Iraq.


The law and the head of government

The government's
head of government In the Executive (government), executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presid ...
was
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 ...
Iyad Allawi and his deputy was the influential and charismatic Barham Salih. The ceremonial
head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...
was
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawar (, born 1958) is an Iraqi politician. He was the Vice President of Iraq, vice president under the Iraqi Transitional Government in 2006, and was interim president of Iraq under the Iraqi Interim Government from 2004 to ...
. Absent a permanent constitution, the new government operated under the Law of Administration for the State of Iraq for the Transitional Period. Allawi was a former member of the Iraq Interim Governing Council and was chosen by the council to be the Interim
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 ...
to govern the country beginning with the United States' handover of sovereignty (June 28, 2004) until national elections, scheduled for early 2005. Although many believe the decision was reached largely on the advice of
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
special envoy to Iraq, Lakhdar Brahimi, the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' reported that Brahimi only endorsed him reluctantly after pressure from U.S. officials, including
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 ...
, the former US Iraqi Administrator. Two weeks later, Brahimi announced his resignation, due to "great difficulties and frustration." Allawi is often described as a moderate
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 ...
(a member of Iraq's majority faith) chosen for his secular background and ties to the United States. However, his image has been undermined with the media suggesting that Allawi was Washington's
puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. Puppetry is an ancient form of theatre which dates back to the 5th century BC in anci ...
.


Actions of the Interim Government

After his interim government assumed legal custody of Saddam Hussein and re-introduced
capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...
, Allawi gave assurances that he would not interfere with the trial and would accept any court decisions. In an interview with
Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
-based TV station al-Arabiya he said: "As for the execution, that is for the court to decide—so long as a decision is reached impartially and fairly."


"Precedents" and accusations

In early July 2004, Allawi issued an unprecedented statement claiming that the Iraqi interim government had provided intelligence for the U.S. air strikers with 500 and 1000 pound (220 and 450 kg) bombs on Fallujah in July. Later he announced new security measures, including the right to impose
martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...
and
curfew A curfew is an order that imposes certain regulations during specified hours. Typically, curfews order all people affected by them to remain indoors during the evening and nighttime hours. Such an order is most often issued by public authorit ...
s, as well as a new counter-terrorist intelligence unit, the General Security Directorate. Allawi vowed to crush the Iraqi insurgency, saying he would "annihilate those terrorist groups". On July 17, ''
The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...
'' alleged that one week before the handover of sovereignty, Allawi himself summarily executed six suspected insurgents at a Baghdad police station. The allegations are backed up by two independent sources and the execution is said to have taken place in presence of about a dozen Iraqi police, four American security men and Interior Minister Falah al-Naqib. Allawi reportedly said that the execution was to "send a clear message to the police on how to deal with insurgents." Both Allawi's office and Naqib have denied the report. US ambassador John Negroponte did not clearly deny the allegations. On July 18, Iraqi militants offered a $285,000 reward for anyone who could kill Iyad Allawi.


Allawi's policies

In August, Allawi closed the Iraqi office of
Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...
for thirty days. His minister Hoshiyar Zebari deplored the "one-sided and biased coverage" and declared that the interim government "will not allow some people to hide behind the slogan of freedom of the press and media." Allawi also appointed ex-Baathist and former Saddam intelligence officer Ibrahim Janabi as the head of the Higher Media Commission, a regulator of Iraq's media. The banning of Al Jazeera was widely criticised in the Arab world and the West, for example by Reporters Sans Frontières who called it "a serious blow to press freedom". The negotiations that followed the fighting between Muqtada al-Sadr's
militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...
and joint US/Iraqi forces in
Najaf Najaf is the capital city of the Najaf Governorate in central Iraq, about 160 km (99 mi) south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2024 is about 1.41 million people. It is widely considered amongst the holiest cities of Shia Islam an ...
ended when Allawi withdrew his emissary Mouwaffaq al-Rubaie on August 14. An al-Sadr spokesman alleged that they "had agreed with Rubaie on all points but Allawi called him back and he ended the issue."


Criticism

Allawi has been heavily criticised by members of his own government. Justice minister Malik Dohan al-Hassan resigned over the issue of an arrest warrant of Ahmed Chalabi. Vice president Ibrahim al-Jafari commented on the attacks against al-Sadr: "War is the worst choice, and it is only used by a bad politician." Another Iraqi official said: "There are brush fires burning out of control all over the place from terrorists and insurgents, and he starts a new bonfire in Najaf." While the strategy of "eliminat ngMoqtada Sadr's political movement" by "crushing his military power" instead of integrating him into the political process received mostly praise in the West, the Arab press levelled harsh criticism of Allawi's handling of the Najaf situation.


Members of the Interim Government

As appointed on 28 June 2004: *President: Ghazi Yawer (
Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...
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 ...
tribal leader) *Vice President: Ibrahim Jaafari ( Islamic Dawa Party) *Vice President: Rowsch Shaways (
Kurdistan Democratic Party The Kurdistan Democratic Party (), usually abbreviated as KDP or PDK, is the ruling Political party, party in Iraqi Kurdistan and the senior partner in the Kurdistan Regional Government. It was founded in 1946 in Mahabad in Iranian Kurdistan. ...
) *Prime Minister: Iyad Allawi ( Iraqi National Accord) *Deputy Prime Minister for National Security: Barham Salih ( Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) *Foreign Minister: Hoshyar Zebari (
Kurdistan Democratic Party The Kurdistan Democratic Party (), usually abbreviated as KDP or PDK, is the ruling Political party, party in Iraqi Kurdistan and the senior partner in the Kurdistan Regional Government. It was founded in 1946 in Mahabad in Iranian Kurdistan. ...
) *Finance Minister: Adel Abdul Mahdi (
SCIRI The Sciri, or Scirians, were a Germanic people. They are believed to have spoken an East Germanic language. Their name probably means "the pure ones". The Sciri were mentioned already in the late 3rd century BC as participants in a raid on the ...
) *Defence Minister: Hazem Shalan al-Khuzaei ( Iraqi National Congress) *Interior Minister: Falah Hassan al-Naqib *Minister of Oil: Thamir Ghadhban *Minister of Justice: Malik Dohan al-Hassan *Minister of Human Rights: Bakhityar Amin *Minister of Electricity: Ayham al-Samarie *Minister of Health: Alaa Abdessaheb al-Alwan *Minister of Communication: Mohammed Ali Hakim *Minister of Housing: Omar Farouk *Minister of Public Works: Nesreen Mustafa Berwari *Minister of Science and Technology: Rashad Mandan Omar *Minister of Planning: Mahdi al-Hafez *Minister of Trade: Mohammed al-Joubri *Minister of Sport and Youth: Ali Faik al-Ghaban *Minister of Transportation: Louei Hatim Sultan al-Aris *Minister of Provincial Affairs: Wael Abdel-Latif *Minister of Women's Affairs: Narmin Othman *Minister of Immigration and Refugees: Pascal Esho Warda *Minister of Irrigation: Latif Rashid *Minister of Labour: Leila Abdul-Latif *Minister of Education: Sami Mudahfar *Minister of Higher Education: Tahir Albakaa *Minister of Agriculture: Sawsan Sherif *Minister of Culture: Mufid Mohammad Jawad al-Jazairi *Minister of Industry: Hajim al-Hassani *Minister of State: Kassim Daoud *Minister of State: Mamu Farham Othman Pirali *Minister of State: Adnan al-Janabi


See also

* Iraq Interim Governing Council * Iraq Transitional Government


References


External links


Official Homepage of the Iraqi Interim GovernmentIraq Assembly Off to a Faltering Start
(One World, Aug 15)


Iraq: The interim government leaders
(Council on Foreign Relations) {{s-end Cabinets of Iraq Provisional governments 2004 establishments in Iraq 2005 disestablishments in Iraq History of the government of Iraq (2003–2011)