Jamil Al Midfai (Arabic: جميل المدفعي; (1958 – 1890)) was an

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

i politician. He served as the country's

prime minister A prime minister, premier 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. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

on five separate occasions.

Biography

Born in the town of

Mosul Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second larg ...

, Midfai served in the Ottoman army during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, but deserted in 1916 to take part in the

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

Arab Revolt The Arab Revolt ( ar, الثورة العربية, ) or the Great Arab Revolt ( ar, الثورة العربية الكبرى, ) was a military uprising of Arab forces against the Ottoman Empire in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. On ...

. After the war, he was an aide to the Emir Faisal during his brief reign in Syria. He returned to Iraq in 1920, but was soon forced into exile in

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

because of his anti-

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

nationalist activities. Upon his return in 1923, he served in various senior provincial capacities and finally joined the cabinet in 1930. He was elected as the president of the Chamber of Deputies from December 1930 to November 1931, and from November 1931 to November 1933. As a seasoned politician and two-time prime minister, he was asked to form a new government in August 1937, following the assassination of General

Bakr Sidqi Bakr Sidqi al-Askari (; 1890 – 11 August 1937) was an Iraqi general of Kurdish origin, born in 1890 in Kirkuk and assassinated on 11 August 1937, at Mosul. Early life Bakr Sidqi was born to Kurdish family either in ‘Askar,Edmund Ghareeb, ...

, who had ruled the country as a military dictator for almost a year. A staunch monarchist, Midfai was again forced into exile to Transjordan following the short-lived pro-

Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis * Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...

coup by

Rashid Ali al-Kaylani Rashid Ali al-Gaylaniin Arab standard pronunciation Rashid Aali al-Kaylani; also transliterated as Sayyid Rashid Aali al-Gillani, Sayyid Rashid Ali al-Gailani or sometimes Sayyad Rashid Ali el Keilany (" Sayyad" serves to address higher standing ...

in 1941. Upon his return to Iraq, he served in various senior capacities including President of the

Senate of Iraq The Senate of Iraq (''Majlis al-A`yan'') was the unelected upper house of the bicameral parliament established by the Mandatory Iraq's 1925 constitution. There were around twenty Senators, appointed for eight years by the King of Iraq. The Senate r ...

in the 1950s, and briefly as prime minister after the suspension of political activities during the Iraqi Intifada. He died on 26 October 1958 suffering from lung cancer.

Fourth Ministry

When the Crown Prince

'Abd al-Ilah 'Abd al-Ilah of Hejaz, ( ar, عبد الإله; 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 for his first-cousin once r ...

came back to Baghdad in 1 June 1941, He summoned Midfai to Him and after careful consultations, the opinion settled on Midfai to form a new government, so the Prince sent Him the following letter: The circumstances in which Al-Madfai was tasked with forming his fifth cabinet were strict and required the appointment of ministers and determining their responsibilities so quickly that he could not think about the extent of the cooperation that would take place between him and his associates in the management of state affairs in these circumstances. And accordingly, the royal will was issued on the second day of June 1941 to appoint:History of the ministries of Iraq, Part 6 page 6 - 'Abd al-Razzaq al-Hasani
archived copy in Arabic
/ref> #Jamil Al-Midfai: the Prime Minister #

Ali Jawdat al-Aiyubi Ali Jawdat al-Ayoubi (Arabic: علي جودت الأيوبي; November 11, 1886 – March 3, 1969) was Prime Minister of Iraq from 1934–1935, 1949–1950, and in the latter half of 1957. His father was of Kurdish origin and his mother ...

: Minister of Foreign Affairs # Mustafa Mahmud al-Umari: Minister of Interior # Nadhif Al-Shawi: Minister of Defense # Ibrahim Kemal:

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

and Minister of Justice #

Jalal Baban Jalal (Arabic: جلال) is a masculine given or family name. The name or word Jalal means majesty and is used to honor and venerate. When the Arabic language spread across non-Arabic regions, Jalal has also become a name for some Arabic-speaking C ...

: Minister of Works and Communications # Nasrat al-Farisi: Minister of economy # Mohammed Ridha Al-Shabibi: Minister of Knowledge.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Midfai, Jamil 1890 births 1958 deaths Arabs from the Ottoman Empire People from Mosul Ottoman Military Academy alumni Ottoman Army officers Ottoman military personnel of World War I Prime Ministers of Iraq Finance ministers of Iraq Presidents of the Senate of Iraq Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies of Iraq Iraqi exiles