Nouri al-Maliki

Nouri Kamel al-Maliki (Arabic: نوري كامل المالكي, transliterated Nūrī Kāmil al-Mālikī; born c. 1950), also known as Jawad al-Maliki, is Prime Minister of Iraq (2006-). He is a Shi'a Muslim, and is the deputy leader of the Islamic Dawa Party. He was appointed to succeed the transitional government of fellow Dawa leader Ibrahim al-Jaafari. His 37-member Cabinet was approved by the National Assembly and sworn in on May 20, 2006. Al-Maliki's constitutional mandate will last until 2010. On April 26, 2006, al-Maliki's office announced that he would thenceforth use the first name Nouri instead of his pseudonym Jawad.

Early life

Nouri Kamel al-Maliki was born in Al Hindiyah (Hindiya), a southern Iraqi town lying between Karbala and Al Hillah, in 1950. ^*^*^* Al-Maliki received a bachelor's degree at Usul al-Din College in Baghdad, and a master's degree in Arabic literature from Baghdad University. Al-Maliki lived for a time in Al Hillah, where he worked in the education department. He joined the Islamic Dawa Party while studying at university.

Exile and return to Iraq

In 1980, the Saddam Hussein government sentenced al-Maliki to death for his activism in the Dawa party. Thereafter, he lived in exile, first in Iran and later in Syria. In Syria, he headed the party's Jihad Office, a branch responsible for directing activists and guerrillas fighting Saddam Hussein's regime from outside of Iraq. He was elected chairman of the Joint Action Committee, a Damascus-based opposition coalition that led to the founding of the Iraqi National Congress, a United States-backed body of opposition to the Saddam Hussein regime which the Dawa Party participated in between 1992 and 1995. While in exile, al-Maliki adopted the pseudonym "Jawad", which he used until after his return to Iraq.

Returning home after Saddam's fall, he became the deputy leader of the De-Baathification Commission of the Iraqi Interim Government, formed to purge former Baath Party officials from the military and government. Many Sunni Arabs deeply resented the commission, viewing it as part of a Shi'a conspiracy to take power in Iraq, even though the Baath Party officials affected came from both the Shi'a and Sunni communities.

Al-Maliki was elected to the transitional National Assembly in January 2005. He was considered a tough negotiator in drawn-out deliberations over the new constitution, and was the senior Shi'ite member of the committee that drafted the new constitution that was passed in October 2005 over Sunni Arab objections. He resisted U.S. efforts to put more Sunnis on the drafting committee, as well as Sunni efforts to water down provisions giving wide autonomy to Shiite and Kurdish regions in the north and south.

Prime Minister nomination

In the December 2005 parliamentary elections, the United Iraqi Alliance won the plurality of seats, and nominated Ibrahim al-Jaafari to be Iraq's first full-term post-war prime minister. However, al-Jafaari faced opposition from Sunni and Kurdish factions who were negotiating to be part of the new government. In April 2006, al-Jaafari was removed as the candidate, and on April 22, 2006, al-Maliki was named prime minister-designate by President Jalal Talabani.

United States Ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, has stated that "^* reputation is as someone who is independent of Iran," and that "He sees himself as an Arab" and an Iraqi nationalist. Khalilzad also maintained that Iran "pressured everyone for Jaafari to stay." Maliki's nomination is seen as a victory for Khalilzad's negotiating efforts. Khalilzad praised Iraqi statesmen, saying "It showed that Sistani doesn't take Iranian direction. It showed that Abdul Aziz Hakim doesn't succumb to Iranian pressure. He stood up to Iran. It showed the same thing about the Kurdish leaders." This interpretation reflects the position of the U.S. Government. On May 20, 2006, al-Maliki presented his Cabinet to Parliament, minus permanent ministers of Defense and of Interior. He announced that he would temporarily handle the Interior Ministry himself, and Salam al-Zobaie would temporarily act as Defense Minister. "We pray to God almighty to give us strength so we can meet the ambitious goals of our people who have suffered a lot," al-Maliki told the members of the assembly.

In Office

As Prime Minister, al-Maliki has vowed to crack down on militias which he calls "organized armed groups who are acting outside the state and outside the law." He had been criticized for taking too long to name permanent Interior and Defense ministers, which he did on June 8, 2006, just as Maliki and the Americans announced the killing of Al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Meanwhile, Maliki criticized coalition armed forces as reports of allegedly deliberate killings of Iraqi civilians (at Haditha and elsewhere) became known. He has been quoted as saying, "^*his is a phenomenon that has become common among many of the multinational forces. No respect for citizens, smashing civilian cars and killing on a suspicion or a hunch. It's unacceptable." According to Ambassador Khalilzad, Maliki had been misquoted, but it was unclear in what way.

On June 13, 2006, U.S. President George W. Bush paid a visit to Baghdad to meet with Maliki and President of Iraq Jalal Talibani, as a token of support for the new government. On June 25, al-Maliki presented a national reconciliation plan to the Iraqi parliament. The peace plan sets out to remove powerful militias from the streets, open a dialogue with rebels and review the status of purged members of the once-ruling Ba'ath party. Some view this as a bold step towards rebuilding Iraq.

References

External links

Profile: Jawad al-Maliki BBC News 21 April 2006
Al-Huda News Article
MEIB article