Nouri al-Maliki

Nouri Kamil Muhammad-Hasan al-Maliki, born on June 20, 1950, is a prominent Iraqi politician known for his leadership of the Islamic Dawa Party since 2007. His political journey began in the late 1970s as a Shia dissident opposing the regime of Saddam Hussein. After fleeing a death sentence, he spent twenty-four years in exile, where he emerged as a senior leader of the Islamic Dawa Party, coordinating anti-Saddam efforts and forging alliances with Iranian and Ba'athist Syrian officials.

Al-Maliki's significant political ascent began after the American-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. He became the first full-term prime minister of Iraq in 2006, succeeding the Iraqi Transitional Government. His first cabinet was sworn in on May 20, 2006, and he later formed a second cabinet in December 2010, where he held multiple acting ministerial roles. However, his tenure was marred by challenges, including a devastating offensive by the Islamic State, which led to calls for his resignation.

During his eight years in office, allegations of corruption plagued al-Maliki's administration, with reports of hundreds of billions of dollars disappearing from government funds. His governance faced criticism for empowering Shia militias and fostering sectarian violence, as he was perceived to favor Shia political and military figures over other ethnic and religious groups. Despite these controversies, he was elected as one of Iraq's vice presidents in September 2014, a position he maintained until 2018.