10 Facts About Haider al-Abadi

Haider Jawad Kadhim al-Abadi is an Iraqi politician who was Prime Minister of Iraq from September 2014 until October 2018.

Haider al-Abadi was designated as prime minister by President Fuad Masum on 11 August 2014 to succeed Nouri al-Maliki and was approved by the Iraqi parliament on 8 September 2014.

Haider al-Abadi was forced to retire in 1979 due to disagreements with the Ba'athist regime, and was buried in the US after his death.

In 2003, Haider al-Abadi became skeptical of the Coalition Provisional Authority privatization plan, proposing to Paul Bremer that they had to wait for a legitimate government to be formed.

Haider al-Abadi was elected as a member of the Iraqi Parliament in the December 2005 parliamentary election and chaired the parliamentary committee for Economy, Investment and Reconstruction.

In 2008, Haider al-Abadi remained steadfast in his support of Iraqi sovereignty, insisting on specific conditions to the agreement with the US regarding its presence in Iraq.

In 2009, Haider al-Abadi was identified by the Middle East Economic Digest as a key person to watch in Iraq's reconstruction.

Haider al-Abadi was one of several Iraqi politicians supporting a suit against Blackwater as a result of the 2010 dismissal of criminal charges against Blackwater personnel involved in the 2007 killing of 17 Iraqi civilians.

The announcement of the leadership transition from al-Maliki to Haider al-Abadi triggered a major realignment of Sunni Arab public opinion away from armed opposition groups and to the Iraqi government, since many Iraqi Sunni Arabs were optimistic that the new government would address their grievances and deliver public goods and services to them.

Furthermore, Haider al-Abadi pivoted closer towards Russia and Iran in order to combat the threat of ISIL and encouraged cooperation between these nations on military operations in the region.