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Mohammad Bahr al-Uloom (‎; 17 December 1927 – 7 April 2015) was an Iraqi political figure and

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ic leader who served as the President of the Governing Council of Iraq ( 43rd

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Biography

Bahr al-Uloom was born in Najaf in 1927 to Ali Bahr al-Uloom. He grew up and studied in Najaf, under his father, as well as other notable scholars of the religious seminary of Najaf. He was a long time opponent of the rule 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 ...

. By 1992, he had moved to London where he opposed Saddam's rule for many years. He was an active member of London's

Shi'a 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 understoo ...

community and was the head of AhlulBayt Centre in South London. In November 1992, at the '' Salahuddin gathering'', within the safety of the southern air exclusion zone, along with

Masoud Barzani Masoud Barzani (; born 16 August 1946) is a Kurdish politician who has been leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) since 1979, and was President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq from 2005 to 2017. Early life and career Barzani was bo ...

and Colonel Hassan al-Naqib, he was one of the three men to be appointed to the presidential council by the Iraqi National Congress. Mohammad Bahr al-Uloom continued to live in London prior to the 2003 Iraq invasion. After the United States deposed Saddam Hussein in 2003, as part of

Operation Iraqi Freedom 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 the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

, Bahr al-Uloom was appointed to the Iraq interim governing council. He agreed to participate in the interim government and was appointed to the nine-member rotating presidency. He was the first president of the council, in an interim capacity, serving in that position from 13 July 2003 until 1 August 2003. In August 2003, Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, a friend of Bahr al-Uloom, was killed in a car bombing. Shortly after, Bahr al-Uloom announced his voluntary suspension from the council, citing the failure of the council's ability to maintain law and order in post-war Iraq. He later returned to the council, and became president again on 1 March 2004, serving until 1 April 2004.

Personal life

Bahr al-Uloom was married to the great-granddaughter of Mirza Shirazi. They had four daughters and three sons. His son, Ibrahim, was the Oil Minister of Iraq from September 2003 to June 2004, and again during 2005. His son, Muhammad-Husayn, served as the Ambassador of Iraq to the United Nations in the years 2018-2022.

Death

Bahr al-Uloom died in 2015 died from kidney disease.

References

External links

Bahraluloom Charitable Foundation
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bahr al-Uloom, Mohammad 1927 births 2015 deaths British people of Iraqi descent Iraqi ayatollahs Iraqi Shia Muslims Islamic Dawa Party politicians Prime ministers of Iraq