Muhammad Najib Ar-Ruba'i ( ar, محمد نجيب الربيعي) (also spelled Al-Rubai) (1904–1965) was the first

president of Iraq The president of Iraq is the head of state of Iraq and "safeguards the commitment to the Constitution and the preservation of Iraq's independence, sovereignty, unity, the security of its territories in accordance with the provisions of the Con ...

(Chairman of Sovereignty Council), from July 14, 1958 to February 8, 1963. Together with

Abdul Karim Qassim Abd al-Karim Qasim Muhammad Bakr al-Fadhli al-Zubaidi ( ar, عبد الكريم قاسم ' ) (21 November 1914 – 9 February 1963) was an Iraqi Army brigadier and nationalist who came to power when the Iraqi monarchy was overthrown d ...

, he was one of the leaders of the

14 July Revolution The 14 July Revolution, also known as the 1958 Iraqi coup d'état, took place on 14 July 1958 in Iraq, and resulted in the overthrow of the Hashemite monarchy in Iraq that had been established by Faisal I of Iraq, King Faisal I in 1921 under the ...

that toppled King

Faisal II Faisal II ( ar, الملك فيصل الثاني ''el-Melik Faysal es-Sânî'') (2 May 1935 – 14 July 1958) was the last King of Iraq. He reigned from 4 April 1939 until July 1958, when he was killed during the 14 July Revolution. This regici ...

in 1958. While Qassim became prime minister and held most of the power, Ar-Ruba'i was elected head of state with the title of ''Chairman of the Sovereignty Council''. The Sovereignty Council had a representative from each of the communal/ethnic groups. Ar-Ruba'i represented the

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...

community. In 1963, Qassim was deposed by another coup led by

Abd as-Salam Arif ʿAbd al-Salam Mohammed ʿArif al-Jumayli ( ar, عبد السلام محمد عارف الجميلي'; 21 March 1921 – 13 April 1966) was the second president of Iraq from 1963 until his death in a plane crash in 1966. He played a leading role ...

. Ar-Ruba'i had to retire from politics. Ar-Ruba'i died in 1965.

References

1904 births 1965 deaths Presidents of Iraq {{Iraq-politician-stub