Rashid Ali Al-Gailani | |
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رشيد عالي الکَيلاني | |
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| Prime Minister of Iraq | |
| In office 20 March 1933 – 9 November 1933 | |
| Monarchs | Faisal I Ghazi I |
| Preceded by | Naji Shawkat |
| Succeeded by | Jamil al-Midfai |
| In office 31 March 1940 – 3 February 1941 | |
| Monarch | Faisal II |
| Regent | Prince Abdullah |
| Preceded by | Nuri al-Said |
| Succeeded by | Taha al-Hashimi |
| In office 13 April 1941 – 30 May 1941 | |
| Monarch | Faisal II |
| Regent | Sharaf bin Rajeh |
| Preceded by | Taha al-Hashimi |
| Succeeded by | Jamil al-Midfai |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1892 |
| Died | 28 August 1965(1965-08-28) (aged 72–73) |
| Political party | Party of National Brotherhood |
Rashid Ali al-Gaylani (Al-Gailani)[note 1] (Arabic:رشيد عالي الکَيلاني,Arabic pronunciation:[raʃiːdʕaːliːal.keːlaːniː]) (1892 – 28 August 1965) was an Iraqi politician who served asPrime Minister of Iraq on three occasions: from March to November 1933, from March 1940 to February 1941 and from April to May 1941. He is chiefly remembered as an ardentArab nationalist andArab fascist[citation needed] who attempted to removeBritish influence fromIraq by starting a coup against the government in 1941. During his brief tenures as prime minister in 1940 and 1941, he attempted to negotiate settlements with theAxis powers duringWorld War II to counter British influence in Iraq.
Rashid Ali was the son of Sayyid Abd al-Wahhab al-Gailani and born into the prominentBaghdad-based Al-Gailani family. The nameAl-Gailani indicates that their ancestors originated inGilan,Iran. He also had origins in theCircassian governors of the Ottoman Vilayet. Members of the Gailani family were known assayed, as the family's ancestry can be traced back to theIslamic prophetMuhammad.[1] Rashid Ali enrolled in law school in Baghdad and was a lawyer until his political career.[2]
In 1924, Rashid Ali al-Gailani began his career in politics in the first government led byPrime MinisterYasin al-Hashimi. Yasin al-Hashimi appointed Gailani as the Minister of Justice. The two men were ardentnationalists and were opposed to anyBritish involvement in the internal politics of Iraq. They rejected theAnglo-Iraqi Treaty signed by the government of Prime MinisterNuri as-Said in 1930. They formed theParty of National Brotherhood to promote nationalist aims. Gaylani served as prime minister for the first time in 1933 but held office for less than eight months. In 1938 he was seized and exiled to 'Ana for his suspected role in the Baghdad bomb-throwing of November and the general political upheaval.[3]
He was elected as thepresident of the Chamber of Deputies in 1925 and 1926.[4]
During the Hashimi government, Gailani served asMinister of Interior with the additional benefit of the lucrative trusteeship of the Qadiri Awqaf. Later, as prime minister, he would retain the interior portfolio as public works projects progressed, including the laying of the foundations for a mosque to be named the Faysal Mosque.[5]
On 31 March 1940, when Gailani was again appointed prime minister,World War II had started and Iraq had just experienced the premature death of KingGhazi. Ghazi's reign was followed by aRegency for his four-year-old son who was now the new KingFaisal II. Faisal's Regent was Ghazi's uncle,EmirAbdul-Illah. Abdul-Illah supported Britain in the war, but he was unable to control Gaylani, who used the war to further his own nationalist goals by refusing to allow Allied troops passage through Iraq to the front. He also rejected calls for Iraq to break its ties withFascist Italy and sent his Justice Minister,Naji Shawkat, to Ankara to meet with Germany's ambassador toTurkey,Franz von Papen, to win German support for his government. German Foreign Ministry archives record that Shawkat met von Papen on July 5, 1940, and he carried a letter of introduction fromMohammad Amin al-Husayni, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, expressing a desire for a treaty of friendship and collaboration.[6] Baghdad was the early base for Nazi Middle East intelligence operations during World War II.[7]
Britain responded with severe economic sanctions against Iraq. Meanwhile, news ofBritish victories against Italian forces in North Africa weakened support for Gaylani. On 31 January 1941, under pressure from Regent Abdul-Illah, he resigned as prime minister. This only exacerbated his mistrust of Britain and its supporters in the government. Together with the members of theGolden Square, Gaylani made plans to assassinate Regent Abdul-Illah and seize power. On 31 March, Abdul-Illah discovered the plot to assassinate him and fled the country.
On April 1, the Golden Square executed their coup d'état; on April 3, the "National Defence Government" replaced the government of the Regent with Gaylani as prime minister. As one of his first acts, Gaylani sent an Iraqiartillery force to confrontthe RAF base in Habbaniya. By the end of April, Iraqi troops held strong positions on the escarpment above the base, and a siege began.
Iraq had been a major supplier ofpetroleum to theAllied war effort and represented an important landbridge between British forces inEgypt andIndia. To secure Iraq,Prime MinisterWinston Churchill ordered GeneralArchibald Wavell to protect the air base at Habbaniya. On 18 April, British forces from India landed inBasra,Sabine Force. In theMandatory Palestine, another force was created to enter Iraq from the west and relieve RAF Habbaniya,Habbaniya Force.
At Habbaniya, the besieging Iraqis demanded the cessation of all training activities and of all flights in and out of the base. On 2 May, the commander at RAF Habbaniya,Air Vice-MarshalHarry George Smart, responded to the Iraqi demands by launching a pre-emptive strike against the Iraqi forces overlooking the air base. This action initiated theAnglo-Iraqi War. Within a week, the Iraqis abandoned the escarpment. By mid-May, British forces consisting mainly of Assyrian levies from Habbaniya had moved on toFallujah and, after overcoming Iraqi resistance there, moved on to Baghdad. On 30 May, as British troops were closing in on his position, Gaylani fled toIran.[8]
On 31 May, anarmistice between the British and the Iraqis was signed. On 1 June, the Regent returned to Baghdad and his government was restored. Immediately afterwards, theFarhud, a violentpogrom against Jews, took place inBaghdad.
Gaylani was not to stay long in Iran. On 25 August 1941 theBritish and Soviet forces invaded Iran and removedReza Shah from power. Gaylani then fled to Italy.[9] Later he was received by German dictatorAdolf Hitler in Berlin, and he was recognized as the leader of the Iraqigovernment in exile. Upon thedefeat of Germany, Gaylani again fled and found refuge, this time inSaudi Arabia.
Gailani did not return from exile until after therevolution that overthrew the Iraqi monarchy, in 1958. Once again, he attempted to seize power; he plotted a revolt againstAbdul Karim Kassem's government. The revolt was foiled and Gaylani was sentenced to death. However, he was pardoned in July 1961, allowing him to live in Lebanon until 1965 when he died at the age of 72.
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Iraq March 20, 1933 — October 29, 1933 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Iraq March 31, 1940 — January 31, 1941 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Iraq April 3, 1941 — May 29, 1941 | Succeeded by |
| Mandatory Iraq (1920–1932) |
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| Kingdom of Iraq (1932–1958) |
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| First Republic of Iraq (1958–1968) |
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| Ba'athist Iraq (1968–2003) |
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| Iraqi Governing Council (2003–2004) |
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| Republic of Iraq (since 2004) |
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| National | |
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