Abdul Rahman Arif

Abdul Rahman Arif
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Name	Abdul Rahman Arif
Native name	عبد الرحمن عارف
Birth date	1916
Birth place	Baghdad, Ottoman Empire
Death date	2007
Death place	Baghdad, Iraq
Nationality	Iraqi
Occupation	Soldier, politician
Religion	Islam
Office	President of Iraq
Term start	13 April 1966
Term end	17 July 1968
Predecessor	Abd al-Salam Arif
Successor	Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr

Abdul Rahman Arif was an Iraqi military officer and statesman who served as President of Iraq from 1966 to 1968. A figure in the postmonarchical period, he followed a career that linked the Iraq War (1939–1945) generation of officers with the revolutionary politics of the 1958 Iraqi coup d'état aftermath and the rivalries of the Arab Cold War era. His short presidency ended with the 1968 17 July Revolution that brought the Ba'ath Party to long-term power.

Early life and education

Born in Baghdad during the late years of the Ottoman Empire, he grew up amid the political transformations that produced the Kingdom of Iraq (1921–1958), the British Mandate for Mesopotamia, and the emergence of Iraqi nationalist movements such as the Iraqi Independence Party and Ba'athist circles associated with Michel Aflaq and Salah al-Din al-Bitar. His formative years coincided with major events including the Treaty of Sèvres aftermath, the 1920 Iraqi revolt, and regional currents shaped by figures like T. E. Lawrence and the Hashemite monarchs Faisal I of Iraq and Ghazi of Iraq. He attended military schooling influenced by traditions from the Ottoman Military Academy and officer training comparable to institutions in Egypt linked to leaders like Gamal Abdel Nasser and to officers who later joined the Free Officers Movement.

Military and political rise

Arif rose through the ranks of the Iraqi Army, serving under monarchs and through coups that included the 1941 Anglo-Iraqi War and the pro-Axis Rashid Ali al-Gaylani episode. He operated within officer networks that intersected with the 1958 coup led by Abd al-Karim Qasim and later rivalries with Abd al-Salam Arif, Salah al-Din al-Sabbagh-aligned circles, and Ba'athist officers such as Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr and Saddam Hussein. His career involved commands and staff positions during crises that touched on the Suez Crisis aftermath, regional alignments with Syria, and the shifting patronage of Cold War patrons like the United States and the Soviet Union. During the 1963 Ramadan Revolution and subsequent power struggles, he positioned himself among officers seeking stability amid competing parties including the Iraqi Communist Party and nationalist groupings.

Presidency (1966–1968)

Assuming the presidency after the death of his brother, he held office in a period marked by tensions with the United Arab Republic, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and internal factions such as the Iraqi Ba'ath Party and supporters of Abd al-Karim Qasim. His administration engaged diplomatically with regional capitals including Cairo, Beirut, Amman, and Tehran, and navigated international relationships involving the Arab League, the Non-Aligned Movement, and superpower envoys from Washington, D.C. and Moscow. The presidency confronted border incidents with Kuwait and economic issues tied to oil producers like the Iraqi Petroleum Company and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), amid pressures from political actors such as Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri and military figures including Tariq Aziz proteges.

Policies and governance

His governance emphasized conciliatory measures toward rival parties including gestures to the Iraqi Communist Party and overtures to Sunni, Shia, and Kurdish leaders such as figures linked to the Kurdistan Democratic Party and politicians like Mulla Mustafa Barzani. He attempted administrative reforms within ministries and security forces, engaging with institutions such as the Iraqi Ministry of Defence, the Iraqi Air Force, and civil bureaucracies that previously answered to monarchs and revolutionary councils. Foreign policy under his presidency aimed at pragmatic ties with Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Syria, while balancing relationships with Egypt and the Soviet bloc; economic policy intersected with the activities of BP and multinational firms operating in Basra and Kirkuk. His tenure saw debates over nationalization, state control over resources, and responses to social demands channeled through parties like the Ba'ath Party and unions with links to the International Labour Organization.

Overthrow and exile

Discontent within the officer corps and political organizations culminated in the 17 July 1968 coup orchestrated by Ba'athist officers including Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr and a young Saddam Hussein, allied with conspirators from provincial commands and intelligence structures. The coup unseated him with support from units tied to the Republican Guard and security branches influenced by Ba'athist cadres and regional backers. Following the overthrow, he was detained briefly and then sent into exile during a period when Ba'athist consolidation involved purges and trials of rivals, actions mirrored in other regional coups such as Gamal Abdel Nasser's Syria interventions and the Algerian military consolidations of the 1960s.

Later life and legacy

After returning from exile decades later, he lived in Baghdad during the changing regimes that included Ba'athist rule under Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr and Saddam Hussein, the 1991 Gulf War, and the 2003 Iraq War which transformed Iraqi politics. His legacy is debated among historians studying postmonarchical Iraq, with scholarship connecting his presidency to analyses by historians and political scientists focusing on the Arab Cold War, Ba'athist ideology, and Cold War interventions by the United States Department of State and the KGB. Commemorations and archival work in institutions such as national archives in Baghdad and universities that study Middle Eastern history examine his role alongside contemporaries such as Abd al-Salam Arif, Abd al-Karim Qasim, Nuri al-Said, and later figures including Iraqi Governing Council members. Category:Presidents of Iraq