Abdul Salam Arif | |
|---|---|
عبد السلام عارف | |
 Arif in the 1960s | |
| President of Iraq | |
| In office 8 February 1963 – 13 April 1966 | |
| Prime Minister | Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr Tahir Yahya Arif Abd ar-Razzaq Abd ar-Rahman al-Bazzaz |
| Preceded by | Muhammad Najib ar-Ruba'i |
| Succeeded by | Abdul-Rahman al-Bazzaz |
| Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq | |
| In office 14 July 1958 – 30 September 1958 | |
| Minister of Interior of Iraq | |
| In office 14 July 1958 – 30 September 1958 | |
| Preceded by | Muhammad Saeed Effendi bin Mirza Majeed bin Al-Hajj Ahmad Al-Qazzaz |
| Succeeded by | Ahmed Mohammed Yahya |
| Ambassador of theRepublic of Iraq to theFederal Republic of Germany | |
| In office 30 September 1958 – 9 November 1958 | |
| Supreme Commander of the Iraqi Armed Forces | |
| In office 8 February 1966 – 13 April 1963 | |
| Chairman of the National Council for the Leadership of the Revolution | |
| In office 8 February 1958 – 13 April 1966 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1921-03-21)21 March 1921[1] |
| Died | 13 April 1966(1966-04-13) (aged 45) |
| Cause of death | Airplane crash |
| Political party | Arab Socialist Union |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Kingdom of Iraq (1939–1958)  Iraqi Republic (1958–1966) |
| Branch/service |  Iraqi Ground Forces |
| Years of service | 1939–1966 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Battles/wars | |
Abdul Salam Mohammed ʿArif Al-Jumaili (Arabic:عبد السلام محمد عارف الجميليʿAbd al-Salām Muḥammad ʿĀrif al-Jumaylī; 21 March 1921 – 13 April 1966) was an Iraqimilitary officer and politician who served as thepresident of Iraq from 1963 until his death in a plane crash in 1966. He played a leading role in the14 July Revolution, in which theHashemite monarchy was overthrown on 14 July 1958.
Along withAbdel Karim Qasim and other Iraqi military officers, Arif was a member of the clandestine organisation, the Free Officers of Iraq. Like Qasim, Arif served with distinction in the otherwise unsuccessful1948 Arab–Israeli War, where he capturedJenin in what is now theWest Bank part ofPalestine fromIsraeli Defence Forces. During the summer of 1958, Prime MinisterNuri al-Said ordered Iraqi troops under Arif to aidJordan, as part of an agreement of theArab Federation. Instead, however, he led his army units intoBaghdad and on 14 July launched acoup against theHashemite monarchy. Qasim formed a government under the newly proclaimed republic and Arif, his chief aide, was appointed deputy prime minister, interior minister, and deputy commander-in-chief of the armed forces.[2]
Almost immediately however, tensions rose between thepan-Arabist Arif and Iraqi nationalist Qasim who also had the support of theIraqi Communist Party. The former supported a union with theUnited Arab Republic (UAR) — composed ofEgypt andSyria — under presidentGamal Abdel Nasser, but the latter opposed merging with the UAR. As a result, the two leaders engaged in a power struggle, ending in Qasim prevailing and the removal of Arif from his positions on 12 September. He was appointed the low-ranking post of ambassador toBonn. Arif refused to take up the post and upon returning to Baghdad on 4 November, he was promptly arrested for plotting against the state. He was sentenced to death along withRashid Ali al-Gaylani in February 1959.[2] Qasim had him released in November 1961.[3]
Qasim was overthrown on 8 February 1963, by a coalition ofBa'athists, army units, and other pan-Arabist groups. Arif had previously been selected as the leader of the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council and after the coup he was elected president of Iraq due to his popularity.[3] Qasim pleaded with Arif to be exiled instead of executed and reminded Arif that he had commuted his death sentence two years before. Nonetheless, Arif demanded that Qasim swear to theQur'an that it was he, Arif, who had been the real leader of the 1958 coup. Qasim refused and was consequently executed.[4]
Arif was aPan-Arabist who advocated forArab-Islamic nationalism, which caused conflicts between him and Qasim. He had criticized Qasim for excluding Iraq from Pan-Arab efforts and pursuing an Iraqi policy instead.[5] However, Arif also held fairly liberal views onKurds.[6]
Although he was chosen as president, more power was held by the Ba'athist secretary generalAli Salih al-Sa'di and Ba'athist prime minister,Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr. Following aBa'athist-led coup in Syria in March 1963, Arif entered his country into unification talks with Syria and Egypt (which had split from the UAR in 1961). After a falling out with Nasser in July, the Ba'athist government of Iraq removed all non-Ba'athist members from the cabinet, despite Arif's support for Nasser.[3] On 18 November Arif, with the support of disaffected elements in the military, took advantage of a split between the Ba'ath—which weakened the party—and ousted their members from the government. Arif formed a new cabinet, retaining a few Ba'athists, but mostly made up ofNasserist army officers and technocrats. He maintained his presidency and appointed himself chief-of-staff. A month later he handed the latter post to his brother GeneralAbdul Rahman Arif, and the premiership to his confidant Lieutenant-GeneralTahir Yahya.[7] In the fall of 1964, the Ba'ath attempted to depose Arif but failed when their plot was unveiled. Arif had the conspirators, includingSaddam Hussein, arrested.[8][9]
On 26 May 1964, Arif established the Joint Presidency Council with Egypt. On 14 July the anniversary of the revolution, he declared the establishment of theArab Socialist Union (ASU) of Iraq, commending it as the "threshold of the building of the unity of theArab nation underArab socialism." It was nearly identical in structure the ASU of Egypt and like in Egypt, many of the Arab nationalist parties were dissolved and absorbed by the ASU.[7] Also, all banks and over thirty major Iraqi businesses were nationalised. Arif undertook these measures in an effort to bring Iraq closer with Egypt to help foster unity and on 20 December plans for union were announced. Despite this, in July 1965, the Nasserist ministers resigned from the Iraqi cabinet.[10]
President Arif played a major role in encouraging construction in Iraq and developing the country's infrastructure.[11]
On 13 April 1966, Arif was killed in the crash ofIraqi Air Forcede Havilland DH.104 Dove 1,RF392, in southern Iraq about 10 kilometres fromBasra Airport, and was replaced as president by his brother Abdul Rahman.[10][12] Reports at the time said Arif had died in a helicopter accident.Abd al-Rahman al-Bazzaz became acting president for three days, and a power struggle for the presidency occurred. In the first meeting of the Defense Council and cabinet to elect a president, Al-Bazzaz needed a two-thirds majority to win the presidency. Al-Bazzaz was unsuccessful, andAbdul Rahman Arif was elected president. He was viewed by army officers as weaker and easier to manipulate than his brother.[13]
On 13 December 2004, Arif's daughter, Sana Abdul Salam, and her husband, Wamith Abdul Razzak Said Alkadiry, were shot dead in their home in Baghdad by unknown assailants. Rafal Alkadiry, their 22-year-old son, was kidnapped,[14] and later killed.
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | President of Iraq February 8, 1963 – April 13, 1966 | Succeeded by |
| First Republic of Iraq (1958–1968) |
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| Ba'athist Iraq (1968–2003) |
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| Coalition Provisional Authority (2003–2004) |
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| Republic of Iraq (since 2004) |
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