Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr

1914 - 1982

A senior Iraqi military officer and politician.

Ahmad Hasan al-Bakr (also called Abu Haytham) was born in Tikrit, Iraq, to a family of small landowners of the Begat tribe. Upon graduation from a teachers' training high school in Baghdad in 1932, he served as a primary school teacher. In search of a more promising career, in 1938 he joined the military academy that had recently been opened for cadets from middle- and lower-middle-class backgrounds. By 1958, he was a lieutenant colonel. In the mid-1950s, he became involved in political activity as a member of the Free Officers.

Simultaneously, al-Bakr became interested in the newly formed al-Baʿth party (although he did not officially join the party until 1960). After the republican revolution of 14 July 1958, he became associated with Abd al-Salam Arif and pan-Arabism, which demanded unification of Iraq and Egypt into the United Arab Republic under Gamal Abdel Nasser. As a result, when Arif lost power in October 1958, al-Bakr was dismissed from the army by the ruler, General Abd al-Karim Qasim. During the following years, al-Bakr became a central link between the two most potent pan-Arab opposition groups, which sought to bring down Qasim's "secessionist" regime: the civilian al-Baʿth Party and the Nasserite army officers - both retired and active - chief among whom was Arif.

Al-Bakr assisted in planning the first Baʿth coup d'état on 8 February 1963. Following this Ramadan revolution, he became a powerful prime minister, while Arif was made a ceremonial president. Throughout the nine months of Baʿth rule, al-Bakr served as a mediator between the civilian and military wings of the party as well as between its left and right factions. In September 1963, he became a member of the regional leadership of the Baʿth party and, a few months later, of the pan-Arab leadership.

On 18 November 1963, a severe rift between the party's left and right caused him to opt for a third solution: He supported President Arif and his Nasserite army officers in their coup d'état, which toppled the Baʿth from power. After a few months of cooperation, during which he served as deputy
prime minister, Arif sacked him and his Baʿthi colleagues. In September 1964, most of the party leadership, including al-Bakr, were jailed for an attempted coup. Upon their release a few months later, they once again attempted to overthrow the Arif regime.

The Arab defeat in the Arab - Israel war of June 1967 presented al-Bakr and his conspirators with a golden opportunity to agitate against the regime for its failure to give adequate military support to the Arabs. On 17 July 1968, independent army officers joined the Baʿth to assume power in a bloodless coup d'état. Al-Bakr led one of the army units that participated in the takeover. He then became president of the republic and chairman of the all-powerful Revolutionary Command Council. By 30 July, the Baʿth rid themselves of their partners, with al-Bakr becoming prime minister and field marshal. He also held the positions of commander-in-chief of the armed forces, secretary-general of the regional leadership for the party, and deputy secretary-general of the pan-Arab leadership under Michel Aflaq as a figurehead. Between 1973 and 1977, al-Bakr also served as minister of defense.

Throughout these years, al-Bakr cooperated very closely with his young relative, the civilian party and internal-security apparatchik, Saddam Hussein. This cooperation stemmed from mutual interdependence. Al-Bakr needed Hussein as a watchdog against actual and potential enemies both inside and outside the party. Hussein, for his part, could not survive on his own even when he became the strongman in Baghdad in 1970 and 1971, because he lacked the necessary contacts with the military and sufficient support from the party old-timers - and because he was not yet known among the Iraqi public. Thus, while al-Bakr needed protection, Hussein needed time.

Throughout the 1970s, the two effectively purged the army of politically ambitious officers and turned it into a docile tool in the hands of the party, which sent its tentacles into every army unit. The relatives also shared their approach to politics - both were pragmatists, preferring Iraqi interests over those of Arabism, as interpreted by traditional party ideology. Yet, on a few occasions, al-Bakr showed more attachment to traditional party doctrine in terms of his commitment to Arab unity and the struggle against Israel. Differences, however, were minor, until the issue of Iraqi - Syrian relations came up in 1978 and 1979, after the Camp David Accords. Following a rapprochement, al-Bakr favored a loose federation with Hafiz al-Asad's Syria, while Hussein objected to it for fear of losing his position.

On 16 July 1979, Hussein - who by then had complete control of all internal-security branches and through them of the party and the army - staged a bloodless coup, forcing al-Bakr to announce his resignation, caused by ill health (Bakr's health was indeed somewhat shaky). A few days later, Hussein announced that he had uncovered a (Syrian-sponsored) plot to strip away his power, and he used this excuse to execute all his remaining opponents who, until then, could hide behind al-Bakr's back. Hussein also took advantage of this opportunity to sever ties with Damascus.

Between 1979 and 1982, when his death was reported, al-Bakr was living under house arrest and was not involved in matters of state. According to a widely believed rumor, al-Bakr was murdered by poisoning because in 1982, at a low point in the Iran - Iraq War, Hussein was afraid that the retired president might become a focus of opposition against him.

Bibliography

Baram, Amatzia. "The Ruling Political Elite in Baʿthi Iraq, 1968 - 1986." International Journal of Middle East Studies 21 (1989): 447 - 493.

Batatu, Hanna. The Old Social Classes and the RevolutionaryMovements of Iraq: A Study of Iraq's Old Landed and Commercial Classes and of Its Communists, Baʿthists, and Free Officers. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1978.

Marr, Phebe. The Modern History of Iraq. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1985.

— AMATZIA BARAM

Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr
4th President of Iraq
In office July 1968 – July 161979
Preceded by	Abd ar-Rahman Arif
Succeeded by	Saddam Hussein
Born	July 1 1914(1914--) Tikrit, Ottoman Empire
Died	October 4 1982 (aged 68) Baghdad, Iraq
Nationality	Iraqi

General Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr (Arabic أحمد حسن البكر 'Aḥmad Ḥasan al-Bakr) (July 1, 1914 – October 4, 1982), was President of Iraq from 1968 to 1979.

Military career

Al-Bakr entered the Iraqi Military Academy in 1938 after spending six years as a primary-school teacher. During his early military career, he took part in the Rashid Ali revolt in 1941, was arrested, imprisoned, and compulsorily retired from the army, but was reinstated in 1957.

As a brigadier general, he was one of the "free officers," a group that overthrew the monarchy in 1958. He was again forced to retire from the Army in 1959 under allegations that he led a rebellion in Mosul by officers who favoured closer ties with the United Arab Republic.

A leading member of the Ba'ath Party he orchestrated the 1963 coup that overthrew Iraq's military leader Abdul Karim Kasim. He became Prime Minister and Vice President but left left the government in November 1963 - after ten months - when Field Marshal Abdul Salam Arif staged a countercoup. He remained Vice President until he was removed in January 1964.

Al-Bakr retained control of the regional command of the Ba'th Party and in 1968, with Egyptian help, he orchestrated an internal coup within the government of President Abdul Rahman Arif. Arif was exiled and al-Bakr installed as president.

President of the Republic (July 1968 – July 1979)

Al-Bakr became the leading face of the Ba'ath party and Iraqi pan-Arabism and was praised as "leader of the revolution."

He quickly nationalized the Iraq Petroleum Company and compensated all foreign oil companies operating within its borders while introducing wide-ranging social and economic reforms.

The country enjoyed a massive increase in oil revenues starting in late 1973 when international petroleum prices began a steep rise. His economic policy began with a cautious continuation of the former regime's five-year plan but turned toward industrial expansion as oil revenues increased.

His government supported closer ties with Nasser and under his rule Iraq almost joined the United Arab Republic. The flag of Iraq was modified in preparation for this goal.

Bakr's regime also strengthened Iraq's ties with the Soviet Union: On April 9, 1972, Iraq and the Soviet Union signed a treaty of friendship. The two countries agreed to cooperate in political, economic, and military affairs. The Soviet Union also agreed to supply Iraq with arms.

His government also aided Syria with troops and weapons during the Yom Kippur War of October 1973. Calling for military action against Israel, he denounced the cease-fire that ended the 1973 conflict and opposed the interim agreements negotiated by Egypt and Syria. Iraq was able to hurt the Western economy when it participated in the oil boycott against Israel's supporters.

Under Bakr conflicts intensified between the government and the Kurds. In early 1974 heavy fighting erupted in northern Iraq between government forces and Kurdish nationalists, who rejected as inadequate a new Kurdish autonomy law based on a 1970 agreement. The Kurds, led by Mustafa al-Barzani, received arms and support from Iran.

After Iraq agreed in early 1975 to make major concessions to Iran in settling their border disputes, Iran halted aid to the Kurds, and the revolt was dealt a severe blow.

In July 1978 a decree was passed which made all non-Ba'thist political activity illegal and membership of any other political party punishable by death for all those who were members or former members of the Armed Forces.

Resignation and death

Al-Bakr appointed Saddam Hussein, his Tikriti cousin, as his Vice President. In 1976, Saddam rose to the position of general in the Iraqi armed forces, and rapidly became the strongman of the government. As the weak, elderly al-Bakr became unable to execute his duties, Saddam took on an increasingly prominent role as the face of the government both internally and externally, eventually becoming de-facto leader of Iraq some years before he formally became president.

On July 16, 1979 the 65-year-old Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr stepped down, ostensibly on health grounds, and Saddam Hussein assumed the presidency in a move that was widely regarded as a formality. It is commonly believed, based on accounts of witnesses, that Saddam forced the president to step down under threat of being removed by force. Shortly thereafter, Saddam executed several top members of the Ba'ath party under claim of espionage.

Al-Bakr died in 1982 of unreported causes.

Preceded by Abdul Karim Qassim	Prime Minister of Iraq February 1963 – November 1963	Succeeded by Tahir Yahya
Preceded by --	Vice President of Iraq February 1963 – January 1964	Succeeded by --
Preceded by Abd ar-Razzaq an-Naif	Prime Minister of Iraq July 17, 1968 – July 16, 1979	Succeeded by Saddam Hussein
Preceded by Abd ar-Rahman Arif	President of Iraq July 17, 1968 – July 16, 1979
Preceded by None - Position created	Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council July 17, 1968 – July 16, 1979

Heads of state of Iraq
Kingdom of Iraq (1921-1958) (under British mandate, 1920-1932) Kings of Iraq	Faisal I · Ghazi · Faisal II
Republic of Iraq (since 1958) Presidents of Iraq	Muhammad Najib ar-Ruba'i† · Abdul Salam Arif† · Abd ar-Rahman al-Bazzaz*†  · Abdul Rahman Arif† · Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr† · Saddam Hussein · occupation  · Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer  · Jalal Talabani
* acting     † military

Prime Ministers of Iraq
British Mandate of Mesopotamia (1920-1932) and Kingdom of Iraq (1932-1958)	al Gillani · as-Sa'dun† · al-Askari† · al-Hashimi† · as-Sa'dun† · al-Askari† · as-Sa'dun† · Tawfiq al-Suwaidi · as-Sa'dun · Naji al-Suwaidi · as-Said† · Shawkat · al-Gaylani · al-Midfai† · al-Aiyubi† · al-Midfai† · al-Hashimi† · Sulayman · al-Midfai† · as-Said† · al-Gaylani · al-Hashimi† · al-Gaylani · al-Midfai† · as-Said† · H. Pachachi · Tawfiq al-Suwaidi · Arshad al-Umari · as-Said† · Jabr · as-Sadr · Muzahim al-Pachachi · as-Said† · al-Aiyubi† · Tawfiq al-Suwaidi · as-Said† · Mustafa al-Umari · Mahmud† · al-Midfai† · al-Jamali · Arshad al-Umari · as-Said† · al-Aiyubi† · Marjan · as-Said† · 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 Presidents, under Coalition Provisional Authority Directors (2003-2004) (de facto)	al-Ulloum · al-Jaafari · Chalabi · Allawi · Talabani · al-Hakim · A. Pachachi · Hamid · al-Ulloum · Barzani · Salim · al-Yawer ·  · Garner · Bremer
Republic of Iraq (since 2004)	Allawi* · al-Jaafari · al-Maliki
* interim     † military

Persondata
NAME	Bakr, Ahmed Hassan al-
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	أحمد حسن البكر (Arabic)
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Iraqi president
DATE OF BIRTH	July 1, 1914
PLACE OF BIRTH	Tikrit, Iraq
DATE OF DEATH	October 4, 1982
PLACE OF DEATH	Baghdad, Iraq

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