Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer
Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawar | |
---|---|
غازي مشعل عجيل الياور | |
Rowsch Shaways | |
Succeeded by | Adil Abdul-Mahdi and Tariq al-Hashimi |
President of the Governing Council of Iraq | |
In office 17 May 2004 – 1 June 2004 | |
President | Paul Bremer |
Preceded by | Ezzedine Salim |
Succeeded by | Ayad Allawi (as Prime Minister of Iraq) |
Personal details | |
Born | citation needed] Mosul, Iraq | 11 March 1958 [
Political party | The Iraqis |
Alma mater | King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals American University George Washington University |
Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawar (
Al-Yawar was originally a member of the Iraqi Governing Council created following the US-led 2003 invasion of Iraq. In 2004 he was appointed by the council to serve as interim President of Iraq following the 28 June return of Iraqi sovereignty from the Coalition Provisional Authority.
Early life and education
Born in
The House of Yawar has been the head of the
His uncle, Sheikh Mohsen Ajil al-Yawar, is the current head of the Shammar tribe and his grandfather played a role in guiding Iraq towards independence in the 1920s, later serving as a member of the king's parliament.[1] When al-Yawar's uncle refused to sanction Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait in 1990 the family went into exile in London.[4] Al-Yawar, who was then residing in Saudi Arabia, eschewed politics and instead established a successful telecommunications company. He spent much of the past two decades in Saudi Arabia, where he became vice president of a telecommunications company High Capabilities Co. (HiCap).[1]
Presidency
After the toppling of Saddam Hussein in April 2003, al-Yawar returned to Iraq at the request of his uncle, Mohsen al-Yawar. Following the assassination of Iraqi Governing Council President Ezzedine Salim on 17 May 2004, Ghazi al-Yawar assumed the May rotating presidency for the Governing Council.[5] During his term as interim president, leading up to the dissolution of the Governing Council, al-Yawar spoke out against the misperception that Arab Sunnis in Iraq enjoyed huge privileges under Saddam Hussein's rule. Al-Yawar adamantly affirmed that "Saddam did not believe in any religion or sect – his injustices were inflicted on Sunnis, Shi'is, Kurds and all other national groups and sects. He did not differentiate between one Iraqi and another."[6]
Al-Yawar was scheduled to be the last holder of the rotating council presidency, with a term lasting until 30 June 2004, the date of the expected transition to official Iraqi sovereignty. Instead, he was chosen at an earlier date to be Iraq's formal
Sheikh Ghazi's selection as interim president, at first resisted and then accepted by the American administrators in Iraq, is further recognition of the tribal revival at this time. Although this post was described as largely ceremonial, it in fact exercised both symbolic and political sway. As a Sunni tribal leader, he reassured his fellow Sunnis while also representing a familiar type of authority figure for the tribal Kurds, and embodying traditional values esteemed by Shiite religious figures. Faleh A. Jabar, a senior fellow at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, called Sheikh Ghazi "a tribal figure who knows modern ways, not a modern leader who knows tribal ways. He is clever, cautious in choosing words and values the seniority of age, a supreme value in tribal people. Being a sheikh, you have to give the lead to each and everyone except yourself."[8]
But to many Iraqis, Sheikh al-Yawar was part of the Governing Council, which had lost virtually all legitimacy after its inability to solve the military and political crisis that had erupted across Iraq in April. Al-Yawar had been openly critical of the sectarian Governing Council, often acknowledging that the council was more focused on survival than on serious issues, adding only to the country's problems. "We sit in the council while the country is burning and argue over procedure," Sheikh Ghazi told the Christian Science Monitor. "We're like the Byzantines in Constantinople, debating whether angels are male or female with the barbarians at the gate."[10] Like Ayad Allawi, the prime minister, and many of the council members appointed to new jobs in the cabinet and ministries, he faced a struggle to live down his role as a former council member.[11]
Al-Yawar proved determined not to appear as a puppet of the Coalition forces. He pulled no punches when criticizing the United States for the dismal lack of security in Iraq. "We blame the United States 100 percent for the security in Iraq," he said. "They occupied the country, disbanded the security agencies and for 10 months left Iraq's borders open for anyone to come in without a visa or even a passport."[12]
In addition, Sheikh Ghazi condemned the U.S. for remaining in Saddam Hussein's former
As the Coalition-led siege in Fallujah peaked during his term as interim president, al-Yawer openly disparaged the assault that only a few months earlier led him to almost resign from the Governing Council in protest of the Coalition's actions. He told Reuters "I completely disagree with those who see a need to decide the [Fallujah] matter through military action. The Coalition's handling of the crisis is wrong. It's like someone who fired bullets at his horse's head just because a fly landed on it; the horse died and the fly went away." He condemned the actions of the coalition forces, holding them completely accountable (according to the UN resolution) for delivering safety and aid to the Iraqi people.[14]
Post-presidency
Al-Yawar held the position as President of Iraq in an interim capacity until an elected
As vice-president, Sheikh Ghazi addressed some of the many challenges faced by the new government. Due to the boycott of elections by Iraqi Sunnis, al-Yawar stood by his conviction that the new constitution should not be written in light of the past elections that created a unique situation – a complete sector of the Iraqi people were unable to partake in them. The election results were to be taken as the basis for a balance in drafting a constitution for all Iraqis. The constitution, as al-Yawar said in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, "was meant to be always for all the Iraqis and to look after them all and not be 100 percent the whims of a group, religion, or ideology but must have more common ground and denominators for the Iraqi people." At this time, al-Yawar called for a separation between religion and politics, believing religion is too sacred to be polluted by politics. "Religion directs the country towards the public welfare and love while politics is much planning, maneuvers, prevarications and compromises and it is inappropriate for it to put on the cloak of religion."[15]
In the January
In the January 2006 election, he joined the Iraqi National List coalition with other secular politicians Ayad Allawi and Adnan Pachachi. He then became a member of the Iraqi Parliament and after a short period of time resigned from the Parliament to return to his private life. Although it was hard to find research or polling on the subject, a few Sunni commentators, such as "Riverbend" of Baghdad Burning, suggested that Ghazi al-Yawer's poor showing in the elections was largely because he was held in low esteem by common Sunni Iraqis, being called by the epithet "al Baqara al dhahika", which translates roughly as "the laughing cow".
Personal life
Al-Yawar has been married since 1984 and has four children.[citation needed]
References
- ^ a b c d e Daragahi, Borzou (4 June 2004). "Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
- ^ Al Qassemi, Sultan (1 February 2012). "Tribalism in the Arabian Peninsula: It Is a Family Affair". Jadaliyya. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
- ^ "PROFILE / Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer / Under tribal robes, Iraq's president is a man of high energy / He's impatient with delays -- and with U.S." 4 June 2004.
- ^ "It is the Iraqi people who want to nominate me". The Guardian. 1 June 2006.
- ^ Wilson, Scott; Chan, Sewell (1 June 2006). "Iraqi Governing Council President Killed in Attack". The Washington Post.
- ^ "2004 June Informed Comment". Juan Cole. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
- ^ "Yawar appointed Iraqi president". BBC. 1 June 2004. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
- ^ Sachs, Susan (6 June 2004). "The Sheikh Takes Over: In Iraq's Next Act, Tribes May Play the Lead Role". The New York Times.
- ^ Bremer, L. Paul; McConnell, Malcolm (November 2006). My Year in Iraq: The Struggle to Build a Future of Hope. New York, USA: Threshold Editions.
- ^ Murphy, Dan (29 April 2004). "Why Iraq Governing Council Failed". The Christian Science Monitor.
- ^ Wong, Edward (2 June 2004). "A President with Panache: Ghazi Ajil al-Yawer". The New York Times.
- ^ Chandrasekaran, Rajiv (1 June 2004). "Iraqi Council Vote postponed". The Washington Post.
- ^ "Who's who in Iraq: Ghazi Yawer". BBC. 1 June 2004. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
- ^ "Ghazi al-Yawar on Iraqi Politics - by Juan Cole". Anti War. 1 June 2004. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
- ^ "Iraqi Vice-President Criticizes Draft Constitution, Demands for Federations". Red Orbit. 27 August 2005
- ^ Burns, John; Glanz, James (14 February 2005). "Iraqi Shiites Win, but Margin is Less than Projection". The New York Times.
External links
Media related to Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer at Wikimedia Commons