Ba'athist Iraq
Iraq, 1968–2003. Draft, not yet reviewed
Ba'athist Iraq was the Iraqi state between 1968 and 2003 under the one-party rule of the Iraqi regional branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. The Ba'ath Party, led by Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, came to power in Iraq through the bloodless 17 July 1968 Revolution, which overthrew president Abdul Rahman Arif and prime minister Tahir Yahya. In September 1980, Iraq invaded Iran, triggering the eight-year-long Iran-Iraq War that ended in a stalemate in 1988. On 20 March 2003, Iraq was invaded by a U.S.-led coalition, which overthrew Saddam and captured much of Iraq by May.
Seat of power: Baghdad
Rulers
Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr
President of Iraq, 1968–1979
He served as the fourth president of Iraq from 1968 to 1979. He was a leading member of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, which espoused Ba'athism, a mix of Arab nationalism and Arab socialism.
Portrait of Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
Saddam Hussein
President of Iraq, 1979–2003
He served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until his overthrow in 2003. He also served as prime minister of Iraq from 1979 to 1991 and later from 1994 to 2003. During his time as vice president, Saddam nationalised the Iraq Petroleum Company, diversifying the Iraqi economy.
Portrait of Saddam Hussein: Iraqi News Agency, Public domain, file
Culture
- Al-Shaheed was built as part of a broader Ba'athist government program to erect a number of public works intended to beautify Baghdad, help instill a sense of national pride, and at the same time immortalize Saddam Hussein's reputation as a powerful and victorious leader.
- By the mid-1970s, Saddam Hussein became the country's de facto leader, despite al-Bakr's de jure presidency.
- Saddam's new policies boosted the Iraqi economy, improved living standards, and elevated Iraq's standing within the Arab world.
- The Sunni-dominated Ba'athist government faced Shia religious separatism and Kurdish ethnic separatism.
Picture
Al-Shaheed Monument in Baghdad was originally dedicated to the Iraqi soldiers killed in the Iran-Iraq War.
Sources
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.