Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi (; born 1 July 1954) is an Iraqi politician who served as Minister of Communications in the Al Maliki government from May 2006 until August 2008 and from 2010 to 2012. Both times he resigned from his position in protest against al-Maliki's sectarian agenda and political interference. In February 2020, during a time of political deadlock brought on by nationwide protests, he was nominated to the position of

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 ...

as a compromise candidate but withdrew after Parliament failed to reach a quorum.

Education

Allawi studied Architectural Engineering at

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 ...

, when he left mid-way through his studies as he was wanted by the government 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 ...

. He went into exile and moved to

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

in 1977, where he completed his education and obtained a degree in Architecture from the

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB; ) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its main campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, autonomous board of trustees and offers programs le ...

in 1980. He then moved to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, where he gained citizenship.

Business

While in higher education he co-founded the Tawfiq Allawi Cable & Electric Wire Factory which manufactured various raw materials including marble, concrete and PVC. His factories were confiscated by the Iraqi government in 1997. Allawi went on to found a cereal bar factory and a software company in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and to work in property development in Lebanon, Morocco and the real estate market in the UK.

Interfaith International

Allawi joined Interfaith International, a Swiss based

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

that supported the human rights of Muslim minorities during the

Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place from 1991 to 2001 in what had been the Socialist Federal Republic of ...

Politics

Allawi participated in the Salah Al-Din Conference of opposition parties in 1992 and the London Conference in 2002. He was elected to the

Council of Representatives of Iraq The Council of Representatives is the ''de facto'' unicameral legislature of Iraq. According to the Constitution of Iraq, it is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of the country. As of 2020, it comprises 329 seats and meets in Baghdad ...

in the Iraqi parliamentary election of January 2005. He is a cousin 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 ...

who founded the opposition

Iraqi National Accord The Iraqi National Accord (INA; Arabic: الوفاق الوطني العراقي; ''Al-Wifaq Al-Watani Al-'Iraqi''), colloquially known in Iraq as Wifaq, is an Iraqi political party founded by Ayad Allawi, Tahsin Muallah and Salah Omar al-Ali in ...

and went on to be the interim

from 2004 to 2005. In May 2006, Allawi was appointed Minister of Communications in the Al Maliki government. After fifteen months he withdrew from the government, citing the Prime Minister's practice of making appointments on a sectarian basis. He rejoined parliament and remained in opposition for the remainder of the government's term.Iraq Telecoms 2009 speakers
, Government of Iraq, 10 November 2009 He returned as Minister of Communications in the newly formed government in 2010, but also resigning after citing the interference of prime minister

Nouri al-Maliki Nouri Kamil Muhammad-Hasan al-Maliki (; born 20 June 1950), also known as Jawad al-Maliki (), is an Iraqi politician and leader of the Islamic Dawa Party since 2007. He served as the Prime Minister of Iraq from 2006 to 2014 and as Vice President ...

in his ministry. He has since remained as a public commentator on Iraqi political affairs, with a series of articles published in Iraqi media outlets and on hi
blog

Minister of Communications

Allawi was twice minister of communications, from May 2006 until August 2007, and from 2010 to 2012. Both times he resigned from his position in protest against al-Maliki's sectarian agenda and political interference. One of Allawi's key policies was rooting out corruption. As communications minister, he implemented a policy that imposed strict anti-bribery terms on every company contracting with the ministry. These terms included that if the company was discovered to have paid a bribe to anyone in the ministry, a fine worth 30% of the contract would be imposed on the contracting company and the company would be blacklisted (preventing it from contracting with any government entity for three years).

2020 Prime Minister appointment

Allawi was appointed prime minister of Iraq on 1 February 2020 in the context of the Iraqi protests of 2019–20, replacing

Adil Abdul-Mahdi Adil Abdul-Mahdi al-Muntafiki (, born 1 January 1942) is an Iraqi politician who served as Prime Minister of Iraq from October 2018 until May 2020. Abdul-Mahdi is an economist and was one of the vice presidents of Iraq from 2005 to 2011. He fo ...

, who had remained as caretaker prime minister for two months after resigning in response to the protests. Allawi's appointment as prime minister came as a result of nearly 4 months of Iraqi protests which were marred by more than 600 deaths amongst unarmed peaceful protestors outcried by the Iraqi civil society and the international community alike. His appointment was met with a popular uproar amongst Iraqi protesters for his perceived affiliation with the same root causes that triggered the October 2019 Iraqi protests including ' dissatisfaction with the country's political elite's mismanagement of the Iraq's economy and multiple catastrophic security disasters over a 16 year span including the rise of

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...

and systemic widespread corruption which resulted in Iraq's rank as one of the most corrupt governments in the world for nearly 16 consecutive years. On 1 March 2020, Allawi withdrew his candidacy after parliament failed for the second time in a week to approve his cabinet.

Personal life

He is a cousin of

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allawi, Mohammed Tawfiq 1954 births Living people University of Baghdad alumni American University of Beirut alumni Communications ministers of Iraq Members of the Council of Representatives of Iraq Politicians from Baghdad Iraqi Shia Muslims National Democratic Party (Iraq) politicians