Khaled_al-Obaidi

Khaled al-Obaidi

Khaled al-Obaidi

34th Iraqi Minister of Defense

Khaled Yassin al-Obaidi (born 1959)[1] is an Iraqi politician who served as the defense minister of Iraq from 2014 to 2016.

Quick Facts Defense Minister of Iraq, President ...

Background

Khalid Yassin al-Obaidi is a Sunni Muslim who was born in Mosul.[2] He belongs to the al-Obaidi Sunni tribal confederation.[3] al-Obaidi is a member of the Iraqi parliament's Itihad al-Quwa al-Wataniyah bloc.[4] He holds two master's degree in engineering and military science as well as a doctorate in political science.[5] He served in the Iraqi Air Force, specialising in engineering aircraft engines until 2003 when he was appointed as a university professor by the Ministry of Higher Education. He was appointed as the Technical Education Authority by the Ministry of Education in 2007[5][6] and has also served as a security advisor for the President of the Parliament. He was nominated for the post of Defense Minister and accepted by the Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki in 2010 but was rejected by Ayad Allawi, the Iraqi National List founder.[7] He was also a major general in the Iraqi Army.[3]

Defence Minister

On 18 October 2014, he was appointed as the Defence Minister of Iraq.[2] In August 2016, al-Obeidi was voted out of power through a no-confidence vote in the parliament, with a majority of lawmakers voting against him over allegations of corruption. He is the first incumbent defence minister to receive a no-confidence vote in Iraq after the invasion of Iraq in 2003.[6][8] Othman Ghanm was appointed to succeed him as the interim Defence Minister by the Iraqi government on 29 August 2016.[9]

Later career

In December 2017 an MP reported that an arrest warrant had been issued for al-Obaidi. Warrants were issued for 48 defence officials in total, including the air force commander.[10]

al-Obaidi later shifted to the Azem Alliance.[11] Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi appointed him as the head of the operations section of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service on 14 September 2020.[12]

References

  1. [1]
    "Iran would fully stand by Iraqi govt., nation". Mehr News Agency.
  2. [2]
    "Iraq MPs approve two key ministers". Al Jazeera. 18 October 2014. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  3. [3]
    "Khaled al-Obeidi / Khalid al-UBAYDI". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  4. [4]
    "Where does tribal influence fit in Iraqi politics?". Al-Monitor. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  5. [5]
    "Iraqi Prime Minister Abadi's government finally complete". Al Monitor. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  6. [6]
    "The Sacking of Iraq's Defense Minister". STRATFOR. 25 August 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  7. [7]
    Mustafa al-Furati (20 October 2014). "Key ministers appointed to restore security in Iraq". Al-Akhbar. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  8. [8]
    "Iraqi defense minister gets no-confidence vote amid offensive against ISIS". Haaretz. 25 August 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  9. [9]
    Baxtiyar Goryan (29 August 2016). "Iraqi government assigns interim Defense Minister". Kurdistan24. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  10. [10]
    "MP: Arrests ordered for former Iraqi defense minister, air force commander". Iraqi News. 27 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  11. [11]
    "Disputes Linger in Iraq over Positions of President, Premier, Parliament Speaker". Asharq Al-Awsat. 31 December 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  12. [12]
    "Iraqi government steps up fight against corruption". Al Monitor. 17 September 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
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