The Iraqi Interim Government was created by the United States and its coalition allies as a

caretaker government A caretaker government is a temporary ''ad hoc'' government that performs some governmental duties and functions in a country until a regular government is elected or formed. Depending on specific practice, it usually consists of either randomly se ...

to govern

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 Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

until the drafting of the new constitution following the National Assembly election conducted on January 30, 2005. The Iraqi Interim Government itself took the place of the

Coalition Provisional Authority ) , capital = Baghdad , largest_city = capital , common_languages = Arabic Kurdish English (''de facto'') , government_type = Transitional government , legislature = Iraqi Governing Council , title_leader = Administrator , leader1 = Ja ...

(and the

Iraq Interim Governing Council The Iraqi Governing Council (IGC) was the provisional government of Iraq from 13 July 2003 to 1 June 2004. It was established by and served under the United States-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). The IGC consisted of various Iraqi pol ...

) on June 28, 2004, and was replaced by the Iraqi Transitional Government on May 3, 2005.

Organization

The Iraqi Interim Government was recognized by the U.S., the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

, the

Arab League The Arab League ( ar, الجامعة العربية, ' ), formally the League of Arab States ( ar, جامعة الدول العربية, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world, which is located in Northern Africa, Western Africa, E ...

and several other countries as being the

sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title which can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin , meaning 'above'. The roles of a sovereign vary from monarch, ruler or ...

government of Iraq (see

Iraqi sovereignty Iraqi or Iraqis (in plural) means from Iraq, a country in the Middle East, and may refer to: * Iraqi people or Iraqis, people from Iraq or of Iraqi descent * A citizen of Iraq, see demographics of Iraq * Iraqi or Araghi ( fa, عراقی), someone ...

for more information). The U.S. retained significant

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with '' de jure'' ("by l ...

power in the country and critics contend that the government existed only at the pleasure of the United States and other coalition countries, whose military forces still remain in Iraq. The coalition did promise that its troops would leave if the new sovereign government requested it, but no such request was made.

The law and the head of government

The government's

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a ...

was

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 is ...

Iyad Allawi Ayad Allawi ( ar, إيَاد عَلَّاوِي ; born 31 May 1944) is an Iraqi politician. He served as the vice president of Iraq from 2014 to 2015 and 2016 to 2018. Previously he was interim prime minister of Iraq from 2004 to 2005 and the ...

and his

deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

was the influential and charismatic Barham Salih. The ceremonial

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...

was

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: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawar ( ar, غازي مشعل عجيل الياور, born 1958) is an Iraqi politician. He was the vice president under the Iraqi Transitional Government in 2006, and was interim president of Iraq under the Iraqi Interim Gove ...

. They were all sworn in at a second and more public ceremony on June 28, 2004, shortly after the small private one at which L. Paul Bremer, the Coalition Provisional Authority's administrator, formally gave chief justice

Midhat Mahmoud Midhat (also spelled Medhat, Mitat, or Mithat) (Arabic مدحت Romanized: Midḥat) is a masculine given name of Arabic origin. Particularly, in Pakistan Midhat is used as a girl name. The name means 'Praise' or 'Eulogy'. Persons with the given ...

the legal documents instituting the hand-over. Absent a permanent constitution, the new government operated under the Law of Administration for the State of Iraq for the Transitional Period. Allawi was a former member of the

and was chosen by the council to be the Interim

Prime Minister of Iraq The prime minister of Iraq is the head of government of Iraq. On 27 October 2022, Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani became the incumbent prime minister. History The prime minister was originally an appointed office, subsidiary to the head of state, a ...

to govern the country beginning with the United States' handover of sovereignty (June 28, 2004) until national elections, scheduled for early 2005. Although many believe the decision was reached largely on the advice of

special envoy to Iraq,

Lakhdar Brahimi Lakhdar Brahimi ( Algerian pronunciation: ; ar, الأخضر الإبراهيمي; '; born 1 January 1934) is an Algerian United Nations diplomat who served as the United Nations and Arab League Special Envoy to Syria until 14 May 2014. He was M ...

, the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reported that Brahimi only endorsed him reluctantly after pressure from U.S. officials, including Paul Bremer, the former US Iraqi Administrator. Two weeks later, Brahimi announced his resignation, due to "great difficulties and frustration." Allawi is often described as a moderate

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mos ...

(a member of Iraq's majority faith) chosen for his secular background and ties to the United States. However, his image has been undermined with the media suggesting that Allawi was Washington's

puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods or strings to move ...

Actions of the Interim Government

After his interim government assumed legal custody of Saddam Hussein and re-introduced

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...

, Allawi gave assurances that he would not interfere with the trial and would accept any court decisions. In an interview with

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, wikt:دبي, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates#Major cities, most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 ...

-based TV station

al-Arabiya Arabiya ( ar, العربية, transliterated: '; meaning "The Arabic One" or "The Arab One") is an international Arabic news television channel, currently based in Dubai, that is operated by the media conglomerate MBC. The channel is a fl ...

he said: "As for the execution, that is for the court to decide—so long as a decision is reached impartially and fairly."

"Precedents" and accusations

In early July 2004, Allawi issued an unprecedented statement claiming that the Iraqi interim government had provided intelligence for the U.S. air strikers with 500 and 1000 pound (220 and 450 kg) bombs on Fallujah in July. Later he announced new security measures, including the right to impose

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Martia ...

and

curfew A curfew is a government order specifying a time during which certain regulations apply. Typically, curfews order all people affected by them to ''not'' be in public places or on roads within a certain time frame, typically in the evening and ...

s, as well as a new counter-terrorist intelligence unit, the General Security Directorate. Allawi vowed to crush the Iraqi insurgency, saying he would "annihilate those terrorist groups". On July 17, ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' alleged that one week before the handover of sovereignty, Allawi himself summarily executed six suspected insurgents at a Baghdad police station. The allegations are backed up by two independent sources and the execution is said to have taken place in presence of about a dozen Iraqi police, four American security men and Interior Minister Falah al-Naqib. Allawi reportedly said that the execution was to "send a clear message to the police on how to deal with insurgents." Both Allawi's office and Naqib have denied the report. US ambassador John Negroponte did not clearly deny the allegations. On July 18, Iraqi militants offered a $285,000 reward for anyone who could kill Iyad Allawi.

Allawi's policies

In August, Allawi closed the Iraqi office of

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazee ...

for thirty days. His minister Hoshiyar Zebari deplored the "one-sided and biased coverage" and declared that the interim government "will not allow some people to hide behind the slogan of freedom of the press and media." Allawi also appointed ex-Baathist and former Saddam intelligence officer Ibrahim Janabi as the head of the Higher Media Commission, a regulator of Iraq's media. The banning of Al Jazeera was widely criticised in the Arab world and the West, for example by

Reporters Sans Frontières Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...

who called it "a serious blow to press freedom". The negotiations that followed the fighting between Muqtada al-Sadr's

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

and joint US/Iraqi forces in

Najaf Najaf ( ar, ٱلنَّجَف) or An-Najaf al-Ashraf ( ar, ٱلنَّجَف ٱلْأَشْرَف), also known as Baniqia ( ar, بَانِيقِيَا), is a city in central Iraq about 160 km (100 mi) south of Baghdad. Its estimated popula ...

ended when Allawi withdrew his emissary Mouwaffaq al-Rubaie on August 14. An al-Sadr spokesman alleged that they "had agreed with Rubaie on all points but Allawi called him back and he ended the issue."

Criticism

Allawi has been heavily criticised by members of his own government. Justice minister

Malik Dohan al-Hassan Malik Dohan al-Hassan ( ar, مالك دوهان الحسن; 1 July 1919 – 23 May 2021) was an Iraqi politician and academician, who served as Minister of Culture and Information in 1967, headed the Iraqi Bar Association in 2003, and was the Min ...

resigned over the issue of an arrest warrant of Ahmed Chalabi. Vice president Ibrahim al-Jafari commented on the attacks against al-Sadr: "War is the worst choice, and it is only used by a bad politician." Another Iraqi official said: "There are brush fires burning out of control all over the place from terrorists and insurgents, and he starts a new bonfire in Najaf." While the strategy of "eliminat ngMoqtada Sadr's political movement" by "crushing his military power" instead of integrating him into the political process received mostly praise in the West, the Arab press levelled harsh criticism of Allawi's handling of the Najaf situation.

Members of the Interim Government

As appointed on 28 June 2004: *President: Ghazi Yawer (

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 dis ...

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

tribal leader) *Vice President: Ibrahim Jaafari (

Islamic Dawa Party The Islamic Dawa Party, also known as the Islamic Call Party ( ar, حزب الدعوة الإسلامية, Ḥizb ad-Daʿwa al-Islāmiyya), is an Shia Islamist political party in Iraq. Dawa and the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council are two of the ...

) *Vice President:

Rowsch Shaways Rowsch Nuri Shaways ( Kurdish: ڕۆژ نووری شاوەیس, Arabic: روز نوري شاويس) (15 – 1947 February 2021) was a Kurdish politician who served as the first Prime Minister of the KDP-controlled part of Kurdistan. After the inva ...

(

Kurdistan Democratic Party The Kurdistan Democratic Party ( ku, Partiya Demokrat a Kurdistanê; پارتی دیموکراتی کوردستان), usually abbreviated as KDP or PDK, is the largest party in Iraqi Kurdistan and the senior partner in the Kurdistan Regional G ...

) *Prime Minister:

(

Iraqi National Accord The Iraqi National Accord (Arabic: الوفاق الوطني العراقي ''Al-Wifaq Al-Watani Al-'Iraqi''), known inside Iraq as Wifaq, is an Iraqi political party founded by Iyad Allawi, Tahsin Muallah and Salah Omar al-Ali in 1991. History ...

) *Deputy Prime Minister for National Security: Barham Salih (

Patriotic Union of Kurdistan The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK; ku, یەکێتیی نیشتمانیی کوردستان, translit=Yekîtiya Nîştimanî ya Kurdistanê) is a political party active in Kurdistan Region and the disputed territories in Iraq. The PUK descri ...

) *Foreign Minister:

Hoshyar Zebari Hoshyar Mahmud Mohammed Zebari, also simply known as Hoshyar Zebari (also spelled ''Hoshyar Zebari/Zibari'', Kurdish: ''Hişyar Zêbarî''; born 23 September 1953) is an Iraqi politician who formerly served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq in ...

(

) *Finance Minister:

Adel Abdul Mahdi Adil Abdul-Mahdi al-Muntafiki ( ar, عادل عبد المهدي المنتفكي, born 1 January 1942) is an Iraqi politician who served as Prime Minister of Iraq from October 2018 until May 2020, hundreds of protestors of ''Tishreen revolutio ...

(

SCIRI The Sciri, or Scirians, were a Germanic people. They are believed to have spoken an East Germanic language. Their name probably means "the pure ones". The Sciri were mentioned already in the late 3rd century BC as participants in a raid on th ...

) *Defence Minister: Hazem Shalan al-Khuzaei (

Iraqi National Congress The Iraqi National Congress (INC; Arabic: المؤتمر الوطني العراقي ''Al-Moutammar Al-Watani Al-'Iraqi'') is an Iraqi political party that was led by Ahmed Chalabi who died in 2015. It was formed as an umbrella opposition group ...

) *Interior Minister: Falah Hassan al-Naqib *Minister of Oil: Thamir Ghadhban *Minister of Justice:

*Minister of Human Rights: Bakhityar Amin *Minister of Electricity: Ayham al-Samarie *Minister of Health: Alaa Abdessaheb al-Alwan *Minister of Communication: Mohammed Ali Hakim *Minister of Housing: Omar Farouk *Minister of Public Works: Nesreen Mustafa Berwari *Minister of Science and Technology: Rashad Mandan Omar *Minister of Planning: Mahdi al-Hafez *Minister of Trade: Mohammed al-Joubri *Minister of Sport and Youth: Ali Faik al-Ghaban *Minister of Transportation: Louei Hatim Sultan al-Aris *Minister of Provincial Affairs: Wael Abdel-Latif *Minister of Women's Affairs:

Narmin Othman Narmin Othman (born c.1948, Arabic: نيرمين عثمان; Kurdish Nermîn Osman) is the Iraqi Minister for the Environment in the government of Nouri al-Maliki, a post she also held in the Iraqi Transitional Government. She was Minister of Wom ...

*Minister of Immigration and Refugees: Pascal Esho Warda *Minister of Irrigation:

Latif Rashid Abdul Latif Rashid (; born 10 August 1944), also known as Latif Rashid () is an Iraqi Kurdish politician and the ninth president of Iraq, following the 2022 Iraqi presidential election. He was previously the Minister of Water Resources under th ...

*Minister of Labour: Leila Abdul-Latif *Minister of Education: Sami Mudahfar *Minister of Higher Education: Tahir Albakaa *Minister of Agriculture: Sawsan Sherif *Minister of Culture:

Mufid Mohammad Jawad al-Jazairi Mufid Mohammad Jawad al-Jazairi (born 1939) was Minister of Culture in the cabinet appointed by the Interim Iraq Governing Council in September 2003 and in the Iraqi Interim Government. A Shia Muslim and member of the Iraqi Communist Party' centr ...

*Minister of Industry:

Hajim al-Hassani Hajim Mahdi Saleh al-Hassani ( ar, حاجم مهدي صالح الحسني; born 1954 in Kirkuk) to a prominent family is an Iraqi politician and was the speaker of the Iraqi National Assembly under the Iraqi Transitional Government. A moderate S ...

*Minister of State: Qassim Dawoud *Minister of State: Mamu Farham Othman Pirali *Minister of State: Adnan al-Janabi

References

External links

Official Homepage of the Iraqi Interim GovernmentIraq Assembly Off to a Faltering Start
(One World, Aug 15)
Iraq: The interim government leaders
(Council on Foreign Relations) {{s-end Cabinets of Iraq Provisional governments 2004 establishments in Iraq 2005 disestablishments in Iraq