Rashid Ali al-Gaylani

Rashid Ali al-Gaylani
Rashid Ali al-Gaylani
	رشيد عالي الكيلاني
9th Prime Minister of Iraq
	In office; 20 March 1933 – 9 November 1933
Monarch	Faisal I; Ghazi I
Preceded by	Naji Shawkat
Succeeded by	Jamil al-Midfai
	In office; 31 March 1940 – 3 February 1941
Monarch	Faisal II; Prince Abdullah (Regent)
Preceded by	Nuri al-Said
Succeeded by	Taha al-Hashimi
	In office; 13 April 1941 – 30 May 1941
Monarch	Faisal II; Prince Abdullah (Regent)
Preceded by	Taha al-Hashimi
Succeeded by	Jamil al-Midfai
Personal details
Born	1892; Baghdad, Ottoman Iraq
Died	28 August 1965 (aged 72–73); Beirut, Lebanon
Political party	Party of National Brotherhood

Rashid Ali al-Gaylani[note 1] (Arabic: رشيد عالي الكيلاني‎, Arabic pronunciation: [raʃiːd ʕaːliː al.keːlaːniː]) (1892 – 28 August 1965) was an Iraqi politician who served as Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Iraq on three occasions: from March to November 1933, from March 1940 to February 1941 and from April to May 1941. He is chiefly remembered as an anti-Semitic Nazi Arab nationalist who attempted to remove the British influence from Iraq by starting a coup against the government in 1941. During his brief tenures as Prime Minister in 1940 and 1941, he attempted to negotiate settlements with the Axis powers during World War II in order to counter British influence in Iraq.

Early life

He was the son of Sayyid Abdul Wahhab al-Gaylani and born into the prominent Baghdad-based Gaylani family. He also had origins in the circassian governors of the Ottoman Vilayet. The Gaylani were known as sayed, as they were from a family that traced its ancestry back to the Islamic prophet Muhammad.[1] Rashid Ali enrolled in law school in Baghdad and was a lawyer until his political career.[2]

Political career

In 1924, Rashid Ali al-Gaylani began his career in politics in the first government led by Prime Minister Yasin al-Hashimi. Yasin al-Hashimi appointed Gaylani as the Minister of Justice. The two men were ardent nationalists and were opposed to any British involvement in the internal politics of Iraq. They rejected the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty signed by the government of Prime Minister Nuri as-Said in 1930. They formed the Party of National Brotherhood to promote nationalist aims. Gaylani served as Prime Minister for the first time in 1933 but held office for less than eight months. In 1938 the subject was seized and exiled to 'Ana for his suspected role in the Baghdad bomb-throwing of November and the general political upheaval.[3]

He was elected as the president of the Chamber of Deputies in 1925 and 1926.[4]

During the Hashimi government, the subject served as Minister of Interior with the additional benefit of the lucrative trusteeship of the Qadiri Awqaf. Later, as prime minister, he would retain the interior portfolio as public works projects progressed, including the laying of the foundations for a mosque to be named the Faysal Mosque.[5]

On 31 March 1940, when Gaylani was again appointed Prime Minister, World War II had started and Iraq had just experienced the premature death of King Ghazi. Ghazi's reign was followed by a Regency for his four-year-old son who was now the new King Faisal II. Faisal's Regent was Ghazi's uncle, Emir Abdul-Illah. Abdul-Illah supported Britain in the war, but he was unable to control Gaylani, who used the war to further his own nationalist goals by refusing to allow Allied troops passage through Iraq to the front. He also rejected calls for Iraq to break its ties with Fascist Italy and sent his Justice Minister, Naji Shawkat, to Ankara to meet with Germany's ambassador to Turkey, Franz von Papen, to win German support for his government. German Foreign Ministry archives record that Shawkat met von Papen on July 5, 1940, and he carried a letter of introduction from Mohammad Amin al-Husayni, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, expressing a desire for a treaty of friendship and collaboration.[6] Baghdad was the early base for Nazi Middle East intelligence operations during World War II.[7]

1941 Iraqi coup d'état

Rashid Ali al-Gaylani and Haj Amin al-Husseini, speaking at the anniversary of the 1941 Iraqi coup in Berlin

Britain responded with severe economic sanctions against Iraq. Meanwhile, news of British victories against Italian forces in North Africa dulled support for Gaylani's government, and, on 31 January 1941, under pressure from Regent Abdul-Illah, he resigned his post as Prime Minister. This only exacerbated his mistrust of Britain and its supporters in the government. Together with the members of the Golden Square, Gaylani made plans to assassinate Regent Abdul-Illah and seize power. On 31 March, Abdul Illah discovered the plot to assassinate him and fled the country.

On April 1, the coup d'état was launched and on April 3, Gaylani returned to power as Prime Minister and his "National Defence Government" replaced the government of the Regent. As one of his first acts, Gaylani sent an Iraqi artillery force to confront the RAF base situated in Habbaniya, RAF Habbaniya. By the end of April, the Iraqi armed forces were situated in strong positions on the escarpment above the base, and a siege began.

Iraq had been a major supplier of petroleum to the Allied war effort and represented an important landbridge between British forces in Egypt and India. To secure Iraq, Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered General Archibald Wavell to protect the air base at Habbaniya. On 18 April, British forces from India landed in Basra, Sabine Force. In the British Mandate of Palestine, another force was created to enter Iraq from the west and relieve RAF Habbaniya, Habbaniya Force.

Anglo-Iraqi War

At Habbaniya, the besieging Iraqis demanded the cessation of all training activities and of all flights in and out of the base. On 2 May, the commander at RAF Habbaniya, Air Vice-Marshal Harry George Smart, responded to the Iraqi demands by launching a pre-emptive strike against the Iraqi forces overlooking the air base. This action initiated the Anglo-Iraqi War. Within a week, the Iraqis abandoned the escarpment. By mid-May, British forces consisting mainly of Assyrian levies from Habbaniya had moved on to Fallujah and, after overcoming Iraqi resistance there, moved on to Baghdad. On 29 May, fearing a British onslaught, Gaylani fled to Iran. Before he left Baghdad, Gaylani contacted Mulla Effendi and informed him that he had chosen his house as a safe haven for the royal family to stay until the conflict ended.

On 31 May, an armistice between the British and the Iraqis was signed. On 1 June, the Regent returned to Baghdad and his government was restored. Immediately afterwards, the Farhud, a violent pogrom against Jews, took place in Baghdad.

Iran, Italy, Germany and Saudi Arabia

Al-Gaylani with Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser in Cairo, August 1958

Gaylani was not to stay long in Iran. On 25 August 1941, British and Soviet forces invaded Iran and removed Reza Shah from power. Gaylani then fled to Italy.[8] Later he was received by German dictator Adolf Hitler in Berlin, and he was recognized as the leader of the Iraqi government in exile. Upon the defeat of Germany, Gaylani again fled and found refuge, this time in Saudi Arabia.

Later life and death

Gaylani did not return from exile until after the revolution that overthrew the Iraqi monarchy, in 1958. Once again, he attempted to seize power; he plotted a revolt against Abdul Karim Qasim's government. The revolt was foiled and Gaylani was sentenced to death, but later pardoned, allowing him to live in Lebanon until 1965 at the age of 72.

gollark: Very slowly.

gollark: On the other hand, I haven't really found good software for my computer which can match some of my calculator's nice features yet, but I also haven't looked very hard.

gollark: It's annoying.

gollark: For the price of my calculator I can get a decent single-board computer at this point.

gollark: The server is called Illuminations, so Illuminati works as a denonym.

Notes

in Arab standard pronunciation Rashid Aali al-Kaylani; also transliterated as Sayyad Rashid Aali al-Gillani, Sayyad Rashid Ali al-Gailani or sometimes Sayyad Rashid Ali el Keilany ("Sayyad" serves to address higher standing male persons)

References

Makiya, p. 216
Cleveland, p. 212
Longrigg, 1953, p. 274
Sluglett, Peter (December 28, 2007). "Britain in Iraq: Contriving King and Country, 1914-1932". Columbia University Press – via Google Books.
Longrigg, 1953, pp. 248, 283
Aboul-Enein and Aboul-Enein, 2013, pp. 51-52
Lewis, 2003, pp. 69-70
"Preachers of Hate: Islam and the War on America" p. 106

Bibliography

Aboul-Enein, Youssef; Aboul-Enein, Basil (2013). The Secret War for the Middle East: The Influence of Axis and Allied Intelligence operations During WW. Naval Institute Press.
Lewis, Bernard (2003). The crisis of Islam: holy war and unholy terror. Random House Publishing Group. ISBN 9781588360755.
Longrigg, Stephen Hemsley (1953). Iraq, 1900 To 1950: A Political, Social, and Economic History. Oxford University Press.

External links

Newspaper clippings about Rashid Ali al-Gaylani in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW

Political offices
Preceded by Naji Shawkat	Prime Minister of Iraq March 20, 1933 — October 29, 1933	Succeeded by Jamil al-Midfai
Preceded by Nuri as-Said	Prime Minister of Iraq March 31, 1940 — January 31, 1941	Succeeded by Taha al-Hashimi
Preceded by Taha al-Hashimi	Prime Minister of Iraq April 3, 1941 — May 29, 1941	Succeeded by Jamil al-Midfai

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] Arab standard pronunciation Rashid Aali al-Kaylani; also transliterated as Sayyad Rashid Aali al-Gillani, Sayyad Rashid Ali al-Gailani or sometimes Sayyad Rashid Ali el Keilany ("Sayyad" serves to address higher standing male persons)

[2] Makiya, p. 216

[3] Cleveland, p. 212

[4] Longrigg, 1953, p. 274

[5] Sluglett, Peter (December 28, 2007). "Britain in Iraq: Contriving King and Country, 1914-1932". Columbia University Press – via Google Books.

[6] Longrigg, 1953, pp. 248, 283

[7] Aboul-Enein and Aboul-Enein, 2013, pp. 51-52

[8] Lewis, 2003, pp. 69-70

[9] "Preachers of Hate: Islam and the War on America" p. 106

Prime Ministers of Iraq (List)
British Mandate of Mesopotamia (1920–1932)	al Gillani Saadoon† al-Askari† al-Hashimi† Tawfiq al-Suwaydi Naji al-Suwaydi al-Said†
Kingdom of Iraq (1932–1958)	Shawkat al-Gaylani al-Midfai† al-Aiyubi† al-Hashimi† Sulayman al-Said† H. Pachachi Tawfiq al-Suwaydi Arshad al-Umari Jabr as-Sadr Muzahim al-Pachachi Mustafa al-Umari Mahmud† al-Jamali Arshad al-Umari Mirjan Baban
Republic of Iraq (1958–2003)	Qasim† al-Bakr† Yahya† ar-Razzaq† al-Bazzaz† Talib Arif† Yahya† an-Naif† al-Bakr Hussein Hammadi Zubeidi as-Samarrai Hussein
Iraqi Governing Council (2003–2004)	al-Ulloum* al-Jaafari Chalabi Allawi Talabani al-Hakim A. Pachachi Hamid al-Ulloum Barzani Salim al-Yawer
Republic of Iraq (since 2004)	Allawi* al-Jaafari al-Maliki al-Abadi Abdul-Mahdi Al-Kadhimi
* interim † military