Haider al-Abadi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Haider al-Abadi
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حيدر العبادي
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Al-Abadi in 2015
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| Prime Minister of Iraq | |
| In office 8 September 2014 – 25 October 2018 |
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| President | Fuad Masum Barham Salih |
| Deputy | Saleh al-Mutlaq Baha Araji Hoshyar Zebari Rowsch Shaways |
| Preceded by | Nouri al-Maliki |
| Succeeded by | Adil Abdul-Mahdi |
| Leader of the Victory Alliance | |
| Assumed office 14 December 2017 |
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| Preceded by | Position established |
| Deputy Leader of the Islamic Dawa Party | |
| In office 15 January 2007 – 8 September 2014 |
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| Preceded by | Nouri al-Maliki |
| Succeeded by | Baha Araji |
| Minister of Communications | |
| In office 1 September 2003 – 1 June 2004 |
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| Prime Minister | Iraqi Governing Council |
| Preceded by | Muhammad Saeed al-Sahhaf |
| Succeeded by | Muhammad Ali Hakim |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Haider Jawad Kadhim al-Abadi
25 April 1952 Baghdad, Kingdom of Iraq |
| Citizenship | Iraq, United Kingdom |
| Political party | Victory Alliance |
| Other political affiliations |
Islamic Dawa |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | University of Technology University of Manchester |
| Profession | Politician |
| Signature |  |
Haider Jawad Kadhim al-Abadi (Arabic: حيدر جواد كاظم العبادي; born 25 April 1952) is an Iraqi politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Iraq from September 2014 to October 2018. Before that, he was the Minister of Communication from 2003 to 2004. This was in the first government after Saddam Hussein was removed from power.
President Fuad Masum chose al-Abadi to be prime minister on 11 August 2014. The Iraqi parliament approved him on 8 September 2014. He took over from Nouri al-Maliki. Time magazine named al-Abadi one of the 100 Most Influential People of 2018.
He was prime minister during most of the War in Iraq (2013–2017). He announced victory against ISIL in this war. After his term, he left office in 2018 due to public unhappiness and protests.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Al-Abadi was born in Baghdad to a Shia Arab family. His father worked at the Baghdad Neurosurgery Hospital. He was also an Inspector General for the Iraqi Ministry of Health. His father had to retire in 1979 because of disagreements with the government at the time.
Al-Abadi speaks English. He finished high school in 1970 at the Central High School in Baghdad. In 1975, he earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Technology in Baghdad. He later earned a PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Manchester in 1980.
Political Career
Al-Abadi joined the Dawa Party in 1967. Some of his brothers were killed or imprisoned in the early 1980s because they belonged to this party. In 1977, he became responsible for the party's activities in Britain. By 1979, he was a member of the party's main leadership group. In 1983, the government took away his passport due to his political activities.
Years in Exile
Al-Abadi stayed in the UK as a voluntary exile until the 2003 invasion of Iraq. During this time, he held several important roles:
- He was a director general at a design and development company in London (1993–2003). This company focused on high-tech transportation systems.
- He worked as a consultant in London on transportation matters (1987–2003).
- He was a research leader for a big modernization project in London (1981–1986).
In 1998, al-Abadi received a grant from the UK Department of Trade and Industry. He also registered a patent for rapid transit systems in 2001 while working in London.
Return to Iraq
After returning to Iraq in 2003, al-Abadi had concerns about the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). He disagreed with their plan to sell off state-owned companies before a proper Iraqi government was in place. In October 2003, al-Abadi and other ministers protested this plan to Paul Bremer, who led the CPA. They believed a legitimate government should make such decisions.
While al-Abadi was Minister of Communications, the CPA gave licenses to three mobile phone companies in Iraq. Even though the CPA had a lot of power, al-Abadi added conditions to these licenses. He wanted to make sure a future Iraqi government could change or end the licenses. He also wanted to allow for a fourth national license. This caused some disagreements with the CPA.
From January to December 2005, al-Abadi worked as an advisor to the Prime Minister of Iraq. This was for the first elected government.
He was elected to the Iraqi Parliament in the December 2005 election. He led the parliamentary committee for Economy, Investment, and Reconstruction. Al-Abadi was re-elected in the 2010 election as a member of parliament for Baghdad. In 2013, he led the Finance Committee. He was involved in discussions about the 2013 Iraqi budget.
Al-Abadi's name was considered for prime minister in 2006. He was also a possible candidate in 2010. In 2008, he strongly supported Iraq's independence. He insisted on specific conditions for the agreement with the U.S. about its presence in Iraq.
Prime Minister (2014–2018)
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On 24 July 2014, Fuad Masum became Iraq's new president. He then nominated al-Abadi for prime minister on 11 August. Al-Abadi had 30 days to form a government that parliament would confirm. The previous prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, did not want to leave his position at first. However, he stepped down on 14 August 2014, after many world leaders and his own party members urged him to. This change in leadership made many Iraqi Sunni Arabs hopeful. They believed the new government would address their concerns.
The Iraqi Parliament approved al-Abadi's new government on 8 September 2014. In the months after becoming prime minister, al-Abadi worked to include more Sunni Arabs in the government. He appointed Khaled al-Obaidi, a well-known Sunni politician, as his Defense Minister. This appointment was approved by parliament. In December 2014, al-Abadi also made a new agreement with the Kurds. Baghdad agreed to share oil income with the Kurdish Regional Government.
To fight corruption in the army, al-Abadi announced that 50,000 "ghost soldiers" had been found. These were people on the army payroll who never showed up for duty. They would pay their officers part of their salaries, which caused corruption. Al-Abadi removed them from the payroll.
Iraqi President Fuad Masum visited Saudi Arabia in November 2014. After this, Saudi Arabia prepared to reopen its embassy in Baghdad. It had been closed since the Gulf War in 1990. Al-Abadi also visited Egypt, Jordan, and Turkey to discuss ways to fight militant groups in the region. Foreign Affairs magazine noted that al-Abadi's efforts to solve Iraq's internal conflicts were a positive change. Because of al-Abadi's reforms, the United States promised $1.5 billion to train Iraqi forces. They also announced the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Iraq.
Fighting political corruption was an early goal for al-Abadi. In August 2015, he introduced a plan to make the government stronger. This included removing security details for senior officials and cutting benefits for some high-level officials.
As prime minister, al-Abadi had to deal with the Islamic State (ISIL). He sometimes criticized Barack Obama and the United States' military response to ISIL. Al-Abadi also worked more closely with Russia and Iran to fight ISIL. He encouraged these nations to cooperate on military actions in the region.
In April 2016, al-Abadi faced challenges in making political reforms. Supporters of Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr stormed the Iraqi parliament. These protests showed the difficulties al-Abadi had in controlling corruption.
On 9 December 2017, Prime Minister Al-Abadi announced that Iraq had won against ISIL. This marked the end of the Iraqi Civil War (2014-2017).
Adil Abdul-Mahdi took over as prime minister after al-Abadi on 25 October 2018.
See also
In Spanish: Haider al-Abadi para niños
