Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetAhmed Hassan al-Bakr
Iraqi president
Date of Birth: 
Place of Birth: Tikrit, Saladin Governorate, Iraq
About Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr
- Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr (Arabic: ???? ??? ?????? 'A?mad ?asan al-Bakr; 1 July 1914 – 4 October 1982) was the 4th President of Iraq, from 17 July 1968 until 16 July 1979.
- A leading member of the revolutionary Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, and later, the Baghdad-based Ba'ath Party and its regional organisation Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region (the Ba'ath Party's Iraqi branch), which espoused Ba'athism, a mix of Arab nationalism and Arab socialism. Al-Bakr first rose to prominence following the 14 July Revolution which overthrew the monarchy.
- In the newly established government, al-Bakr was involved in improving Iraqi–Soviet relations.
- In 1959 al-Bakr was forced to resign from the Iraqi military; the then Iraqi government accused him of being involved in anti-government activities.
- Following his forced retirement, he became the chairman of the Ba'ath Party's Iraqi branch's Military Bureau.
- Through this office he was able to recruit members to the ba'athist cause through patronage and cronyism.
- Prime Minister Abd al-Karim Qasim was overthrown in the Ramadan (8 February) Revolution; al-Bakr was appointed Prime Minister, and later, Vice President of Iraq in a Ba'ath-Nasserist coalition government.
- The government lasted for less than a year, and was ousted in November 1963. Following the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party's ouster from government in 1963, al-Bakr and the party pursued underground activities and became vocal critics of the government.
- It was during this period that al-Bakr was elected the Ba'ath Party's Iraqi branch's Secretary General (the head), and appointed his cousin, Saddam Hussein, to be the party cell's deputy leader.
- Al-Bakr and the Ba'ath Party regained power in the coup of 1968, later referred to as the 17 July Revolution.
- In the coup's aftermath, al-Bakr was elected Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council and President; he was later appointed Prime Minister.
- Saddam, the Ba'ath Party's deputy, became Deputy Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council and Vice President, and was responsible for Iraq's security services.During his rule, Iraq was blossoming; high economic growth due to high international oil prices strengthened Iraq's role in the Arab world and increased the people's standard of living.
- Land reforms were introduced, and wealth was distributed more equally.
- A sort of socialist economy was established in the late-1970s, under the direction of Saddam.
- Al-Bakr gradually lost power to Saddam in the 1970s, when the latter strengthened his position within the party and the state through security services.
- In 1979, al-Bakr resigned from all public offices for "health reasons" and died in 1982 of unreported causes.
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