Abdul Rahman Arif

Infobox Officeholder
name =Abdul Rahman Arif


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order =3rd
office =President of Iraq
term_start =April 16, 1966
term_end =July 17, 1968
primeminister =Abd ar-Rahman al-Bazzaz
Naji Talib
Himself
Tahir Yahya
predecessor =Abd ar-Rahman al-Bazzaz (acting)
successor =Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr
order2 =53rd Prime Minister of Iraq 7th Prime Minister of the Republic of Iraq
term_start2 =May 10, 1967
term_end2 =July 10, 1967
president2 =Himself
predecessor2 =Naji Talib
successor2 =Tahir Yahya
birth_date =1916
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death_date =August 24, 2007
death_place =Amman, Jordan
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party =Arab Socialist Union
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Hajj Abdul Rahman Arif (Arabic عبد الرحمن عارف "ArabDIN|`Abd al-Raḥmān `Ārif") (1916 – August 24, 2007) was president of Iraq from April 16, 1966 to July 16, 1968.

He was a career soldier, and supported the military coup in 1958 that overthrew the monarchy. He also supported the coup that brought his brother, Abdul Salam Arif to power in 1963. His brother appointed him head of the army following the coup, and when the younger Arif died in a helicopter crash, Abdul Rahman al-Bazzaz became acting president; three days later the military decided that Abdul Salam should be succeeded by his older brother instead. Arif was appointed president by the Revolutionary Command Council. He continued his brother's politics, but with a more nationalistic profile.

His presidency was a turbulent one, and on July 16, 1968, while Arif was sleeping, his own assistants along with members of the Ba'ath Party, Ahmad Hassan al-Bakr, overthrew him in a bloodless coup. As Rahman Arif and his brother Salam Arif had done in the 1963 coup against Qasim, the cooalition declared victory once they had captured the radio station and the ministry of defense.

It was accomplished when the defense minister, Hardan Al-Tikriti, phoned Arif informing him that he was no longer president. Arif was exiled to Turkey.

He returned to Iraq in 1979, when Saddam Hussein came to power, and largely stayed out of the public and political spotlight afterwards. He was allowed to leave the country once by Hussein's regime to undertake the Hajj. Arif left Iraq permanently after Hussein was removed from power by the U.S.-led invasion, and lived in Amman, Jordan from 2004. He died in Amman on August 24 2007. [ [http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=21857 "Iraq ex-president dies in Jordan"] , Middle East Online, August 24, 2007.]

Quotes

*“I hope there will be stability and security in all parts of Iraq and neighboring Arab countries,” he said. “I hope there will be national unity in Iraq by forgetting the past and looking for the future.” [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/25/world/middleeast/25aref.html?ref=world]

References

External links

* [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/25/world/middleeast/25aref.html?ref=world Abdel-Rahman Aref, 91, Former Iraqi President, Is Dead]
* [http://zennobia.blogspot.com/2007/09/remembering-aref-documentary-film.html Remembering Aref]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZpJ75HPzaE Remembering Aref - Documentary Film Trailer]