Ministry of Defence (Iraq) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Republic of Iraq
Ministry of Defence

وزارة الدفاع
Department overview
Formed	1921; 104 years ago (1921)
Jurisdiction	Government of Iraq
Headquarters	Green Zone, Baghdad
Employees	188,000 (2024)
Annual budget	$4.1 Billion (2024)
Minister responsible	Thabet Al Abbasi
Website

The Ministry of Defence (Arabic: وزارة الدفاع العراقية) is a very important government department in Iraq. Its main job is to keep the country safe and protect it from any threats. It also helps with keeping things peaceful inside Iraq.

What the Ministry of Defence Does

This Ministry is in charge of all of Iraq's military forces. Think of it as the boss of the entire Iraqi army! This includes the regular Iraqi Army, the Iraqi Navy (who protect the seas, including their special Marines), and the Iraqi Air Force (who fly planes). They also oversee special groups like the Iraqi Special Operations Forces, who handle very tough missions.

A Quick Look at History

The Ministry of Defence was first created in 1921. However, it was temporarily closed down in 2003. It was officially started up again on March 21, 2004. During the time it was closed, another group helped manage security for Iraq.

There's also a special group called the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Command. This group works directly for the Prime Minister of Iraq and focuses on fighting terrorism.

Who is the Minister of Defence?

The Minister of Defence is the main leader of this important Ministry. This person is in charge of making big decisions about Iraq's military and its safety.

Over the years, many different people have held this job. For example, Saadoun al-Dulaimi was the Minister from 2011 to 2014. Later, Khaled al-Obaidi served in this role. More recently, Juma Inad was the Minister from May 2020 to October 2022.

Currently, Thabet Muhammad Al-Abasi is the Minister of Defence, starting in 2022.

One past Minister, Abd al-Qadr Muhammed Jassim al-Obaidi, was a military officer. He faced challenges like managing a large staff and working with different groups within the government.

Iraq's very first Minister of Defence was Jafar al-Askari, who served from 1920 to 1922.

Past Ministers of Defence

This section lists some of the people who have served as Minister of Defence in Iraq throughout history.

During the Kingdom of Iraq (1921–1958)

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Political party	Prime Minister
	Jafar al-Askari		23 October 1920	16 November 1922			Abd Al-Rahman Al-Gillani
	Nuri as-Said		20 November 1922	2 August 1924
	Yasin al-Hashimi		2 August 1924	2 June 1925
	Nuri as-Said		26 June 1925	8 January 1928
	Abd al-Muhsin as-Sa'dun		14 January 1928	20 January 1929
	Muhammad Amin Zaki		28 April 1929	25 August 1929
	Nuri al-Sa’id		19 September 1929	19 March 1930
	Jafar al-Askari		23 March 1930	27 October 1932
	Rashid al-Khawja		3 November 1932	18 March 1933
	Jalal Baban		20 March 1933	28 October 1933

During the Iraqi Republic (1958–1968)

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Political party	President
	Abd al-Karim Qasim		14 July 1958	8 February 1963	Independent		Muhammad Najib ar-Ruba'i
	Salah Mahdi Ammash		8 February 1963	10 November 1963	Ba'ath Party (Iraq Region)		Abdul Salam Arif
	Hardan al-Tikriti		10 November 1963	2 March 1964
	Tahir Yahya		2 March 1964	3 September 1965	Arab Socialist Union
	Arif Abd ar-Razzaq		6 September 1965	16 September 1965	Arab Socialist Union
	Abd al-'Aziz al-'Uqaili		21 September 1965	18 April 1966
	Shakir Mahmud Shukri		18 April 1966	17 July 1968			Abdul Rahman Arif

During Ba'athist Iraq (1968–2003)

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Political party	President
	Ibrahim Abdel Rahman Dawoud		17 July 1968	30 July 1968	Independent		Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr
	Hardan al-Tikriti		30 July 1968	April 1970	Iraqi Ba'ath Party (Iraq Region)
	Hammad Shihab		April 1970	30 June 1973	Iraqi Ba'ath Party (Iraq Region)
	Abdullah al-Khadduri (acting)		30 June 1973	11 November 1974	Iraqi Ba'ath Party (Iraq Region)
	Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr		11 November 1974	15 October 1977	Iraqi Ba'ath Party (Iraq Region)
	Adnan Khairallah		15 October 1977	4 May 1989	Iraqi Ba'ath Party (Iraq Region)		Saddam Hussein
	Abdul Jabbar Khalil Shanshal		4 May 1989	1990	Iraqi Ba'ath Party (Iraq Region)
	Saadi Toma		12 December 1990	6 April 1991	Iraqi Ba'ath Party (Iraq Region)
	Ali Hassan al-Majid		1991	1995	Iraqi Ba'ath Party (Iraq Region)
	Sultan Hashim		1995	2003	Iraqi Ba'ath Party (Iraq Region)

In the Republic of Iraq (2004–Present)

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Political party	Prime Minister
	Ali Allawi		April 2004	June 2004	Independent		Ayad Allawi
	Hazim al-Shaalan		June 2004	1 June 2005	Iraqi National Congress
	Saadoun al-Dulaimi		1 June 2005	6 March 2006	Independent		Ibrahim al-Jaafari
	Qadir Obeidi		6 March 2006	21 December 2010	Independent		Nouri al-Maliki
	Nouri al-Maliki		21 December 2010	17 August 2011	State of Law Coalition
	Saadoun al-Dulaimi		17 August 2011	18 October 2014	Unity Alliance of Iraq
	Khaled al-Obaidi		18 October 2014	19 August 2016	Unity Alliance of Iraq		Haider al-Abadi
	Othman al-Ghanmi (interim)		19 August 2016	30 January 2017	State of Law Coalition
	Erfan al-Hiyali		30 January 2017	24 June 2019	State of Law Coalition
	Najah al-Shammari		24 June 2019	6 May 2020			Adil Abdul-Mahdi
	Juma Inad		6 May 2020	27 October 2022	Independent		Mustafa Al-Kadhimi
	Thabit Al Abassi		27 October 2022	Incumbent			Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani

Images for kids

• 

  The official emblem of the Iraqi Ministry of Defence.