Abd al-Ilah of Hejaz () (; also written Abdul Ilah or Abdullah; 14 November 1913 – 14 July 1958) was a cousin and brother-in-law of King Ghazi of the Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq and was

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

for his nephew King Faisal II, from 4 April 1939 to 23 May 1953, when Faisal came of age. Abd al-Ilah also held the title of

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

of Iraq from 1943 to 1953. Abd al-Ilah was killed along with the rest of the Iraqi royal family in the 14 July Revolution in 1958 that ended the

Hashemite The Hashemites (), also House of Hashim, are the Dynasty, royal family of Jordan, which they have ruled since 1921, and were the royal family of the kingdoms of Kingdom of Hejaz, Hejaz (1916–1925), Arab Kingdom of Syria, Syria (1920), and Kingd ...

monarchy in Iraq. His body was mutilated, dragged across the streets of Baghdad, and eventually burnt.

Biography

Son and heir of King Ali ibn Hussein of Hejaz, who was the elder brother of King

Faisal I of Iraq Faisal I bin Hussein bin Ali Al-Hashemi (, ''Fayṣal al-Awwal bin Ḥusayn bin ʻAlī al-Hāshimī''; 20 May 1885 – 8 September 1933) was King of Iraq from 23 August 1921 until his death in 1933. A member of the Hashemites, Hashemite family, ...

, and brother of Aliya bint Ali. His family fled

Hejaz Hejaz is a Historical region, historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes the majority of the western region of Saudi Arabia, covering the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif and Al Bahah, Al-B ...

when Ibn Saud of Nejd usurped his father's authority. Upon King Ghazi's death in an automobile accident, Abd al-Ilah assumed power in Iraq as

Regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

for the under-age King Faisal II.

1941 Iraqi coup d'état

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Abd al-Ilah was deposed briefly by former

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Rashid Ali al-Gaylani. Rashid Ali led a pro- German ''

coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...

'' against Abd al-Ilah's pro-British government. After he fled the country, Abd al-Ilah was replaced as regent by Sharaf bin Rajeh, an ageing, religious relative of Faisal II. Abd al-Ilah, fearing for his life, was taken on a daring escape route that led via the US embassy in Baghdad to the RAF base at Habbaniya, before reaching the safety of the British warship HMS ''Cockchafer'' and eventually the city of

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. The deposed regent spent his time with former Prime Minister Nuri al-Said as a refugee in

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

. During his time in exile, Abd al-Ilah was a guest of his uncle Abdullah, the

Emir Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...

of Transjordan. On 2 May, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

launched an offensive against the Iraqi rebels. On 26 May, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' newspaper reported that Abd al-Ilah had called for an uprising of tribal and religious leaders to help him overthrow the insurgent government. He appealed specifically to the Iraqi people, the army and the police to accomplish "this heavy task". By 2 June, Rashid Ali's "National Defense Government" had collapsed, and Rashid Ali had fled to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. Abd al-Ilah returned to Baghdad and was restored as regent. Working in tandem with Nuri al-Said, Abd al-Ilah pursued a moderate nationalist approach while maintaining close ties to the Allies. In 1942,

Wendell Willkie Wendell Lewis Willkie (born Lewis Wendell Willkie; February 18, 1892 – October 8, 1944) was an American lawyer, corporate executive and the 1940 History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican nominee for president. Willkie appeale ...

travelled to Britain and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

's personal representative. In Iraq, Abdul Ilah held a lavish state dinner attended by Willkie. In 1945, Abd al-Ilah visited the United States. He was the honored guest at the first state dinner hosted by the new American First Lady,

Bess Truman Elizabeth Virginia Truman (; February 13, 1885October 18, 1982) was First Lady of the United States from 1945 to 1953 as the wife of President Harry S. Truman. She had previously served as Second Lady of the United States from January to April ...

. The regent of "friendly Iraq" was awarded a

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

military decoration Military awards and decorations are distinctions given as a mark of honor for military heroism, meritorious or outstanding service or achievement. A decoration is often a medal consisting of a ribbon and a medallion. Civil decorations award ...

by President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

. In 1953,

Abd al-Ilah stepped down when Faisal II came of age. But he continued to be a close adviser of the young King, and an advocate of a pro-Western foreign policy. In 1955, Iraq adopted the Baghdad Pact (also known as the Central Treaty Organization, or CENTO). The other members of the organization were

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and the

. The organization's headquarters were initially located in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

. In May 1957, King Saud of Saudi Arabia made an eight-day visit to Iraq. He was met on his arrival by Faisal II, Abd al-Ilah, and Prime Minister Nuri al-Said. It was the Saudi king's first ever visit to Iraq, and it commemorated Iraq's membership in the Arab Federation and its break with the

United Arab Republic The United Arab Republic (UAR; ) was a sovereign state in the Middle East from 1958 to 1971. It was initially a short-lived political union between Republic of Egypt (1953–1958), Egypt (including Occupation of the Gaza Strip by the United Ara ...

Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 a ...

Death

14 July Revolution

On 14 July 1958, a ''

'' led by Brigadier Abd al-Karim Qasim toppled the government and brought an end to the Iraqi monarchy. In the ensuing violence brought on by the coup, Abd al-Ilah was killed, along with most of the royal family, at the Al-Rehab Palace. The body of Crown Prince Abd al-Ilah was trailed on al-Rashid street and was cut into pieces. According to the 21 July edition of ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine, Gamal Abdel Nasser's Middle East News Agency gleefully described the assassination of Crown Prince Abd al-Ilah: 'The people dragged Abd al-Ilah's body into the street like that of a dog and tore it limb from limb.' Then the mobs burned the body, and hung it at the Ministry of Defense gates.

Private life

In his book ''Closet Queens'', about 20th century British gay politicians, historian and biographer

Michael Bloch Michael Anthony Bloch (born 24 September 1953) is an author and historian. Educated at Portadown College and St John's College, Cambridge, he was called to the bar by the Inner Temple in 1978 and in 1979 became an assistant to Maître Suzan ...

mentions Prince Abd al-Ilah (whom he calls Prince Abdulilah), on page 157. Bloch describes Prince Abd al-Ilah as being "homosexual" and a close friend of Alan Lennox-Boyd, MP (who was later elevated to the peerage, in 1960, as the 1st Viscount Boyd of Merton). Bloch says that after Abd al-Ilah was killed, "''the revolutionaries discovered intimate letters from Lennox-Boyd among the Prince's papers, which they released to the world's press.''" On page 159 of the book, Bloch says that Lennox-Boyd and

Henry Channon Sir Henry Channon (7 March 1897 – 7 October 1958), known as Chips Channon, was an American-born British Conservative politician, author and diarist. Channon moved to England in 1920 and became strongly anti-American, feeling that American ...

organized a memorial service for their friend, the Prince, in 1958. In the early 1950s he told a Turkish diplomat that he was very fond of the Club rakı, a brand of Turkish rakı.

Military ranks and awards

Abd al-Ilah held the following ranks: *

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

, Royal Iraqi Army *

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...

, Royal Iraqi Air Force * Honorary Marshal,

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

He was awarded the Legion of Merit (Chief Commander) on 1 June 1945. * Poland (in exile): Order of the White Eagle, 1947.

Biography

1941 Iraqi coup d'état

Death

14 July Revolution

Private life

Military ranks and awards

Hashemite genealogy

See also

Notes

Further reading