Fuad al-Rikabi
Fuad al-Rikabi | |
|---|---|
| فؤاد الركابي | |
Talib Hussein ash-Shabibi | |
| Member of the National Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party | |
| In office June 1954 – August 1960 | |
| Member of the Regional Command of the Iraqi Regional Branch | |
| In office December 1955 – 29 November 1959 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1932 Nasiriyah, Kingdom of Iraq |
| Died | December 1971 Baghdad, Ba'athist Iraq |
| Political party | Iraqi Regional Branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party (1951–1961) Arab Socialist Union |
| Religion | Shia Islam |
Fuad al-Rikabi (
As soon as the government was established, a power struggle quickly began between Qasim, an Iraqi nationalist who was supported by the Iraqi Communist Party, and Abdul Salam Arif, an Arab nationalist. Al-Rikabi supported the latter. Along with other cabinet members, al-Rikabi resigned in protest when Arif lost the power struggle in late 1958. Al-Rikabi and the Iraqi Regional Branch of the Ba'ath Party came to the conclusion that the only way to expedite Iraq's entry into the United Arab Republic was to assassinate Qasim. The assassination attempt failed, and most of the leading Ba'athists and co-conspirators, including al-Rikabi, fled to Syria. Shortly after, on 29 November 1959, the Iraqi Regional Command was dissolved.
Al-Rikabi supported the
Early life and career
Al-Rikabi was born into a Shia Muslim family in Nasiriyah in 1932. He attended the engineering school in Baghdad.[1] The Iraqi Regional Branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party was established either in 1951[2] or 1952.[1] While there is some confusion between the various sources, some historians claim Rikabi became Regional Secretary in either 1951 or 1952 and was the Iraqi Regional Branch's first head, others claim that he took the post first in 1954 (succeeding Fakhri Qadduri).[3][4][5][1]
The party initially consisted of a majority of Shia Muslims, as al-Rikabi recruited supporters mainly from his friends and family, but it slowly became
Qasim years
A cabinet headed by
The failure of both Arif and the
Expulsion
| Part of a series on |
| Ba'athism |
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During the era of the UAR, the Ba'ath Party was split into two factions; Aflaqites—the followers of Aflaq—and
The National Command replied to these accusations by declaring that al-Rikabi was unqualified to speak for the party, and furthermore that he had lost his right to speak on the behalf of the Iraqi Regional Branch of the Ba'ath Party when the Iraqi Regional Command was dissolved on 29 November 1959. The reconstituted Iraqi Regional Command passed a resolution on 2 February 1962 which expelled al-Rikabi from the organisation and appointed
Shortly after al-Rikabi's first confrontation with the National Command, Rimawi published a statement on behalf of the Revolutionary Ba'ath Command that he supported al-Rikabi in his struggle against the National Command. Following the dissolution of the UAR in 1962, the Voice of the Arabs (Radio Cairo), referring to al-Rikabi as "[Secretary General] SG of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party of Iraq", announced that they opposed the UAR's break-up. Al-Rikabi was reported to be a member of the Revolutionary Ba'ath Command early in 1962.[17]
Nasserist years
Together with Rimawi and other Palestinian defectors from the Syrian Regional Branch, al-Rikabi formed the Socialist Unionists Movement, a Nasserist political movement.[18] Al-Rikabi became Minister of Rural Affairs under President Abdul Salam Arif (who overthrew Qasim in 1963) until he resigned in 1965.
Arrest and death
He was arrested in 1971[1] and was subsequently killed in prison by the Iraqi security service. The official explanation of his death was that he was killed by fellow inmates. The free Arab press, however, blamed the Iraqi government for it.[19]
References
Citations
- ^ a b c d Ghareeb & Dougherty 2004, p. 194.
- ^ Polk 2006, p. 109.
- ^ Metz 1988.
- ^ Sheffer & Ma'oz 2002, p. 174.
- ^ a b Farouk-Sluglett & Sluglett 2001, p. 90.
- ^ Nakash 2003, p. 136.
- ^ Sheffer & Ma'oz 2002, pp. 174–175.
- ^ Farouk-Sluglett & Sluglett 2001, pp. 49–50.
- ^ Farouk-Sluglett & Sluglett 2001, p. 51.
- ^ Farouk-Sluglett & Sluglett 2001, p. 52.
- ^ Farouk-Sluglett & Sluglett 2001, p. 55.
- ^ Farouk-Sluglett & Sluglett 2001, pp. 59–60.
- ^ Farouk-Sluglett & Sluglett 2001, p. 72.
- ^ Farouk-Sluglett & Sluglett 2001, p. 73.
- ^ Farouk-Sluglett & Sluglett 2001, p. 91.
- ^ a b c Oron 1961, p. 271.
- ^ Oron 1961, p. 272.
- ^ Sayigh 1997, p. 95.
- ^ Farouk-Sluglett & Sluglett 2001, p. 157.
Sources
- Farouk-Sluglett, Marion; Sluglett, Peter (2001). Iraq since 1958: From Revolution to Dictatorship. London; New York: ISBN 978-1-86064-622-5.
- Ghareeb, Edmund A.; Dougherty, Beth K. (2004). Historical Dictionary of Iraq. Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-4330-1.
- Metz, Helen Chapin, ed. (1988). "Iraq — Politics: The Baath Party". Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress Country Studies. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
- Nakash, Yitzhak (2003). The Shi'is of Iraq. Princeton, N.J.: ISBN 978-0-691-11575-7.
- Oron, Yitzhak (1961). Middle East Record. Vol. 2. Jerusalem: OCLC 19956240.
- ISBN 978-1-84511-123-6.
- ISBN 0-19-829265-1.
- Sheffer, Gabriel; Ma'oz, Moshe (2002). Middle Eastern Minorities and Diasporas. Brighton; Portland, Or.: ISBN 978-1-902210-84-1.