Back አህመድ ሀሰን አልበክር Amharic أحمد حسن البكر Arabic احمد حسن البكر ARZ Ahmed Hasan al-Bakr AST Əhməd Həsən Əl-Bəkr Azerbaijani Ахмед Хасан аль-Бакр Byelorussian Ахмэд Хасан аль-Бакр BE-X-OLD Ахмед Хасан ал-Бакър Bulgarian আহমেদ হাসান আল-বকর Bengali/Bangla Ahmad Hassan al-Bakr Catalan
Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr | |
|---|---|
أحمد حسن البكر | |
 Official portrait, c. 1974 | |
| 4th President of Iraq | |
| In office 17 July 1968 – 16 July 1979 | |
| Prime Minister | Abd ar-Razzaq an-Naif Himself |
| Vice President | Saddam Hussein |
| Preceded by | Abdul Rahman Arif |
| Succeeded by | Saddam Hussein |
| Prime Minister of Iraq | |
| In office 31 July 1968 – 16 July 1979 | |
| President | Himself |
| Preceded by | Abd ar-Razzaq an-Naif |
| Succeeded by | Saddam Hussein |
| In office 8 February 1963 – 18 November 1963 | |
| President | Abdul Salam Arif |
| Preceded by | Abd al-Karim Qasim |
| Succeeded by | Tahir Yahya |
| Minister of Defence | |
| In office 11 November 1974 – 15 October 1977 | |
| Prime Minister | Himself |
| Preceded by | Hammad Shihab (died in office) Abdullah al-Khadduri (acting from July 1973) |
| Succeeded by | Adnan Khairallah |
| 1st Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council | |
| In office 17 July 1968 – 16 July 1979 | |
| Deputy | Saddam Hussein |
| Preceded by | Post established |
| Succeeded by | Saddam Hussein |
| Regional Secretary of the Regional Command of the Iraqi Regional Branch | |
| In office October 1966 – 16 July 1979 | |
| National Secretary | Michel Aflaq |
| Preceded by | Saddam Hussein |
| Succeeded by | Saddam Hussein |
| In office 11 November 1963 – February 1964 | |
| Preceded by | Hamdi Abd al-Majid |
| Succeeded by | Saddam Hussein |
| Member of the Regional Command of the Iraqi Regional Branch | |
| In office 11 November 1963 – 16 July 1979 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1 July 1914 Tikrit, Ottoman Empire |
| Died | 4 October 1982 (aged 68) Baghdad, Iraqi Republic |
| Nationality | Iraqi |
| Political party | Arab Socialist Ba'ath (1940s–1966) Baghdad-based Ba'ath (1966–1982) (NPF) |
| Spouse | Ghaida al-Nada |
| Relations | Abdul Karim al-Nada (brother-in-law) Mahmud al-Nada (brother-in-law) Ali al-Nada (brother-in-law) Hassan al-Nada (brother-in-law) Adnan Khairallah (son-in-law) Lo'uay Khairallah (son-in-law) |
| Children | Haytham Muhammad (died in 1978) Abd al-Salam Haifa |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Iraq |
| Branch/service | Iraqi Army |
| Years of service | 1938–1982 |
| Rank |  Field Marshal |
| Battles/wars | Anglo–Iraqi War Ramadan Revolution 17 July Revolution |
Field Marshal Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr[a] (1 July 1914 – 4 October 1982)[1] was an Iraqi politician who served as the fourth president of Iraq, from 17 July 1968 to 15 July 1979. He was 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 after the 14 July Revolution, which overthrew the monarchy. In the newly established government, he 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 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 recruited members to the Ba'athist cause through patronage and cronyism. Prime Minister Abd al-Karim Qasim was overthrown in the Ramadan Revolution (8 February); 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.
Al-Bakr and the party then pursued underground activities and became vocal critics of the government. During this period, al-Bakr was elected the Ba'ath Party's Iraqi branch's Secretary General (the head), and appointed his cousin, Saddam Hussein, the party cell's deputy leader. Al-Bakr and the Ba'ath Party regained power in the coup of 1968, later called the 17 July Revolution. In the coup's aftermath, he was elected the chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council and the president; he was later appointed the prime minister. Saddam, the Ba'ath Party's deputy, became the deputy chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council and vice president, and was responsible for Iraq's security services.
Under al-Bakr's rule, Iraq grew economically due to high international oil prices, which strengthened its position in the Arab world and increased Iraqis' 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 Saddam's direction. Al-Bakr gradually lost power to Saddam in the 1970s, as 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". He died in 1982 of unreported causes.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).