Revolutionary Command Council (Iraq)

The Command Council of the ( Iraqi ) revolution was the supreme executive and legislative government body in the Republic of Iraq under the rule of the Arab Socialist Baath Party.

Abundance of power

The Command Council corresponded to a military junta or collective dictatorship and was comparable to the Politburo of Communist Eastern Bloc countries, the National Security Council of the Soviet Union, the National Defense Council of the GDR or all of these together in his plenitude of power. Government (Cabinet ) and the Parliament ( National Assembly ) were subordinate to him by the Constitution, the Command Council alone was the Baath Party. Per the Constitution, he was responsible (not the National Assembly ) to 2003, the appointment of the Iraqi government and the election of the President by a two-thirds majority of the members of the Command Council (until 1995, since then rigged election of the president by the people). In addition, the Command Council was before the guidelines of the interior, foreign and security policy of Iraq, particularly in economic policy.

History

The Command Council was formally since its inception on July 17, 1968 In theory, up to the supposed death of his last acting president Izzat Ibrahim ad -Duri on 3 December 2005.

In fact, however, the Republican officers had joined in 1958, executive and legislative branches in a " Revolutionary Council " (Council of the National Revolution ) or a " revolutionary government " under Kassim. Even with Kassim fall was by his successor Arif and his Baathist partners a ( three-headed ) "National Revolutionary Command Council " (National Council of the Revolutionary Command ) built in 1963 in a personal union with the Cabinet, transformed in the overthrow of the Baathists by Arif on November 18, 1963 at August 14, 1965 but disbanded and replaced by a "National Defense ", which gave its first power (up to 1966) and a civilian head of government ( Bazzaz ). The omnipotence of 1968 following Baathist Command Council went out practically in April 2003 with the fall of the Baathist regime by the U.S. invasion.

Interaction of party and state

The Revolutionary Command Council should not be confused with the Central ( or line ) of the Iraqi Regional Command of the Baath Party. In addition to a Syrian Regional Command since 1952 there had been an Iraqi Regional Command and two superordinate a pan- Arab National Command of the Baath Party. The Iraqi Regional Command of the Baath Party in 1977, initially involved in the RKR, all members of the Regional Command were members of the Command Council. The 1968 original seven -man Command Council (excluding military ) thus increased to 22 members, winning a stronger civilian Image, state and party were interconnected.

After coming to power of Saddam Hussein in 1979 and further purges in 1982 him but two of them Shiites ( Haddad and al - Amiri and Saadoun Hammadi and az- Zubaidi ), and each were only nine members ( in addition to Vice President Ramadan especially relatives of Saddam Hussein ), a Christian ( Aziz ) and Kurd ( Marouf ). Later, other members were appointed to the RKR (eg Saddam Hussein's son Qusai ), but again not RKR members in the Regional Command. Conversely, however, were all RKR members also members of the Regional Command, Bakr and Hussein were both Chairman of the Command Council and the Regional Command.

Chairman

Chairman of the Command Council was 1968-1979 President Ahmad Hasan al -Bakr, his deputy was Saddam Hussein (1969-1979 and Vice President). Under the presidency Hussein al- Duri was 1979-2003 Deputy or after Hussein's capture 2003-2005 Acting Chairman of the Command Council. The Regional Command of the Iraqi Baath Party operated from since 2003 of Syria from Jordan during Saddam Hussein's daughter Raghad seeks both the guide and successor in exile - RKR and in exile - Regional Command.