Tawfiq al Suwaidi

Tawfiq al-Suwaidi was an Iraqi politician and army officer who served as the prime minister of Iraq on three occasions stretching from 1929 to 1950. He was a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad and belonged to a prominent family of nobles in Baghdad. He joined the Ottoman army in 1902 and adopted the surname al-Suwaidi to indicate his prestigious lineage. He fought in Libya and was captured by the British in 1915. He then joined the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire and became the commander of the Arab army under Faisal I. He supported Faisal's bid for the Syrian throne and followed him to Iraq when he was deposed by the French. He became the first Minister of Interior in Iraq and later served as the prime minister twice. He was known for his moderate and reformist policies, especially regarding the Kurdish issue and the relations with other Arab states. He was assassinated during the Bakr Sidqi coup in 1936, along with other prominent Iraqi politicians.