Nuri al Said

Nuri al-Said was an Iraqi army officer, statesman, and political leader who maintained close ties with Great Britain during and after the mandate period (1921–32) and worked toward Arab unity. He held various key cabinet positions and served eight terms as the Prime Minister of Iraq. He was born in Baghdad in 1888 to a Baghdadi Jewish family. He graduated from the Ottoman Military College in Istanbul and served in Palestine and Macedonia during World War I. He was soon captured by the British, however, and in 1916 he joined the Sharīfian Arab army led by Emir Faisal I, which Great Britain was supporting in a revolt against Ottoman rule in the Arab provinces; Nuri distinguished himself in battle. At the war’s end Faisal established a short-lived Arab state, centred in Damascus, and Nuri served actively in its administration. After the French destroyed this state in 1920, Faisal became the first king of Iraq (1921). Nuri returned to occupy a number of influential positions, including that of prime minister in 1930. In this capacity, Nuri negotiated a 20-year treaty with Great Britain that, although maintaining substantial British influence, granted independence to Iraq. Nuri served as prime minister on 14 different occasions, remaining faithful to two dominant policies: a pro-British attitude and support of the Hashemite dynasty, which King Faisal represented until his death in 1933. Neither of these beliefs was shared by the rising generation of younger army officers, and at the beginning of World War II open conflicts developed. Nuri wished to support the British by declaring war against Germany and breaking off diplomatic relations with Italy. He was opposed by influential army officers, who in April 1941 supported a coup under the leadership of Rashid Ali. Nuri and the king fled into exile. The British defeated the government of Rashid Ali in open warfare. Nuri then returned to Iraq and served as prime minister under British sponsorship in 1941–44. Nuri maintained political order in Iraq while advocating a union of several Arab nations into a single state. He was killed by a mob after the 1958 revolution that overthrew the monarchy and ended the British influence in Iraq. He is considered one of the most controversial figures in modern Iraqi history and a symbol of pro-Western and conservative policies.