54 Facts About Tariq Aziz

Tariq Aziz was an Iraqi politician who served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq from 1979 to 2003 and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1983 to 1991.

Tariq Aziz was a close advisor of President Saddam Hussein.

Additionally, Aziz was a member of the Revolutionary Command Council and the Regional Command of the Iraqi Branch of the Ba'ath Party.

Tariq Aziz was acquitted at trial of some charges but was later found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to 15 years in 2009 for the executions of 42 merchants found guilty of profiteering in 1992 and another 7 years for relocating Kurds.

Tariq Aziz remained in custody for the rest of his life and died of a heart attack in the city of Nasiriyah on 5 June 2015, aged 79 and was buried in Jordan.

Tariq Aziz was born on 28 April 1936, in the village of Tel Keppe in the Nineveh Plains, northern Iraq, to an Iraqi Assyrian family.

Tariq Aziz studied English at the University of Baghdad and later worked as a journalist, before joining the Ba'ath Party in 1957.

Tariq Aziz noted that while Britain and France had extensive historical involvement in the region, the United States did not have the same expertise and often viewed issues through a Cold War lens, concerned primarily with communism.

The Ba'ath Party first came to power in 1963 following the Iraq Revolution of 1958, a time when Tariq Aziz was serving as the editor-in-chief of the party's newspaper.

However, Tariq Aziz emphasized that despite these rumors, the US did not appear to take any direct or aggressive action in Iraq at that time, and Iraq did not view the CIA's involvement as part of a larger, more significant American intervention in the country.

Tariq Aziz began to rise through the ranks of Iraqi politics after the Ba'ath party came to power in 1968.

Tariq Aziz became a member of the General Affairs Bureau of the Revolutionary Command Council.

Tariq Aziz served as a member of the Regional Command, the Ba'ath Party's highest governing organization from 1974 to 1977, and in 1977 became a member of Saddam's Revolutionary Command Council.

Tariq Aziz served as the Minister of Information from 1974 to 177.

Tariq Aziz remarked that the US began paying more attention to Iraq, especially amidst concerns over Soviet influence in the region.

Tariq Aziz explained that while Iraq did not completely boycott the US, it primarily focused on relations with France and Europe, viewing them as more impartial regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Tariq Aziz reflected on the 1970s as a time when Iraq's main focus was on its economic development, with both Saddam Hussein and other key leaders like Tariq Aziz prioritizing the modernization of Iraq's industry, infrastructure, and education systems.

Tariq Aziz recalled how the United States floated claims about Iraq being a pro-Soviet regime, specifically suggesting that Iraq hosted a Soviet airbase or naval base.

Tariq Aziz mentioned to the journalists that they had information about a possible Soviet base in Iraq.

Tariq Aziz noted that, during this period, the entire region, including Iraq, was increasingly leaning toward anti-American sentiment.

In 1979, Tariq Aziz became Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq, and worked as a diplomat to explain Iraq's policies to the world.

Tariq Aziz was the sole Christian holding a position of power during Saddam's rule.

Tariq Aziz's diplomatic efforts laid the groundwork for the eventual restoration of US-Iraq relations in 1984, which was a significant shift in Iraq's foreign policy after years of tension with the United States.

Tariq Aziz negotiated with France to buy fighter planes and established an economic alliance with the former Soviet Union.

Tariq Aziz met Kuwaiti officials in an attempt to convince them to stop pumping excess oil.

When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, Tariq Aziz served as the international spokesman in support of the military action.

Tariq Aziz claimed the invasion was justified because Kuwait's increased oil production was harming Iraqi oil revenues.

Tariq Aziz objected, arguing that the delegation had arrived as a unified body and that he himself had a personal friendship with Mubarak.

Tariq Aziz was deeply involved in Iraq's dealings with the United Nations Special Commission, which was established to oversee Iraq's disarmament after the Gulf War.

Tariq Aziz maintained that by 1992, there were no remaining chemical or biological weapons in Iraq, and that all disarmament tasks had been completed, but UNSCOM did not acknowledge this.

In March 1992, Tariq Aziz attended a formal Security Council meeting in New York and presented evidence to support his claim that Iraq had fully complied with the disarmament terms of Resolution 687.

Tariq Aziz suggested that the UN sanctions be reduced, arguing that Iraq had completed its obligations.

Tariq Aziz noted that instead of acknowledging Iraq's compliance, the UNSCOM continued to make allegations about Iraq hiding weapons, even though no such weapons were found.

Tariq Aziz criticized the leadership of UNSCOM, claiming that many of the inspectors, particularly those from the US and UK, were not neutral professionals but were instead politically motivated to maintain the sanctions and conduct espionage.

Tariq Aziz believed that UNSCOM's mission had evolved into a political tool rather than a purely disarmament-focused effort.

Tariq Aziz stressed that Iraq would not yield to US threats, and claimed that Iraq had implemented all its commitments in line with UN Security Council resolutions.

On 14 February 2003, Tariq Aziz reportedly had an audience with Pope John Paul II and other officials in Vatican City, where, according to a Vatican statement, he communicated "the wish of the Iraqi government to co-operate with the international community, notably on disarmament".

Tariq Aziz said: "As I told the [UN] secretary general, if anybody can have a magic solution, so that all these issues are being dealt with together, equitably and reasonably, we are ready to find such a solution and we are ready to cooperate with the United Nations,".

Tariq Aziz voluntarily surrendered to American forces on 24 April 2003, after negotiations had been mediated by his son.

On 24 May 2006, Tariq Aziz testified in Baghdad as a defence witness for Ibrahim Barzan and Mukhabarat employees, claiming that they did not have any role in the 1982 Dujail massacre.

Tariq Aziz stated that the arrests were in response to the assassination attempt on Saddam Hussein, which was carried out by the Shiite Dawa Party.

On 29 May 2005, the British newspaper The Observer published letters from Tariq Aziz written in April and May 2005, while he was in American custody, addressed to "world public opinion" pleading for international help to end "his dire situation":.

At the time the location of Tariq Aziz's prison was undisclosed; his family was transported in a bus with blackened out windows.

Tariq Aziz's son said that while his father was in poor health, he was being well treated by prison officials.

Tariq Aziz could make 30 minutes of telephone calls monthly and had access to US Arabic-language radio and television stations.

On 17 January 2010, Tariq Aziz suffered a stroke and was transferred from prison to hospital.

Tariq Aziz was set to appear before the Iraqi High Tribunal set up by the Interim Government.

The charges brought against Tariq Aziz were reported by The Independent to be "surprising" as the deaths of the 42 merchants had always previously been attributed to Saddam Hussein.

Nevertheless, on 11 March 2009 the Iraqi High Tribunal ruled that Tariq Aziz was guilty of crimes against humanity, and he was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

On 2 August 2009, Tariq Aziz was convicted by the Iraqi High Tribunal of helping to plan the forced displacement of Kurds from northeastern Iraq and sentenced to seven years in jail.

Tariq Aziz's lawyers had 30 days to lodge an appeal, following which the court would have another 30 days to look into the appeal; if the appeal is turned down the sentence would be carried out after another 30 days.

Tariq Aziz died on 5 June 2015 in al-Hussein hospital in the city of Nasiriyah, at the age of 79.

The incarcerated Tariq Aziz suffered from depression, diabetes, heart disease, and ulcers.

Tariq Aziz resigned from his post but Saddam did not accept his resignation.