Adil Abdul-Mahdi
Adil Abdul-Mahdi al-Muntafiki | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 1, 1942 Baghdad, Iraq |
| Occupation(s) | Politician, Economist |
| Years active | 1965–present |
| Known for | Prime Minister of Iraq (2018–2020), Vice President of Iraq (2005–2011), Minister of Finance, Oil Minister |
Adil Abdul-Mahdi al-Muntafiki (, born 1 January 1942) is an Iraqi statesman who held the position of Prime Minister of Iraq from October 2018 until May 2020. As an economist by profession, he served as one of the vice presidents between 2005 and 2011. Prior to that, he occupied key portfolios including Minister of Finance in the Interim government and later as Oil Minister from 2014 to 2016.
Abdul-Mahdi was formerly affiliated with the prominent Shi'a faction, the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC). The SIIC, primarily based in neighboring Iran, opposed the United States administration while maintaining alliances with U.S.-supported groups that resisted Saddam Hussein, such as the Kurds and the Iraqi National Congress.
In response to widespread demonstrations against governmental corruption and harsh policing tactics, he officially tendered his resignation as prime minister in November 2019.
Background
Born in Baghdad in 1942, Mahdi is the son of a Shiite cleric, Abdul-Mahdi, originally from Dhi Qar Governorate, who held the post of Iraq's Minister of Education during the monarchy period, and a mother from Syria. He received his education at Baghdad College, a prestigious American Jesuit institution, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Baghdad University in 1963. By 1965, he was employed as a secretary within the Iraqi foreign ministry and initially supported the Iraqi Ba'ath Party, though he departed due to ideological disagreements. Relocating to France in 1969, he engaged with French research institutes and edited publications in both French and Arabic. He obtained a Master of Arts in political economy from the University of Poitiers in 1972 and subsequently earned a doctorate in economics. Abdul-Mahdi possesses French citizenship alongside his children and returned to Iraq following Saddam Hussein's fall in 2003.
Early career
During the 1970s, Abdul-Mahdi emerged as a prominent member of the Iraqi Communist Party. The party had fragmented into two factions in 1967: ICP-Central Committee, which collaborated with Iraq’s military regimes, and the ICP-Central Leadership, which opposed such cooperation. Abdul-Mahdi aligned with ICP-Central Leadership but was eventually expelled and established his own splinter faction asserting its legitimacy. Both factions diminished by the early 1980s as Abdul-Mahdi adopted Iranian Islamic ideology. Following Ayatollah Khomeini's suppression of communists and liberals in Iran, he allied his group with Iranian-supported Islamists while residing in France. He joined the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, an opposition organization and militia based in Iran composed of Iraqi exiles since its founding in 1982.
Vice-president
In 2006, while serving as Vice President within the transitional government, Abdul-Mahdi narrowly missed securing the United Iraqi Alliance’s nomination for Prime Minister by one vote to incumbent Ibrahim al-Jaafari. He was later reappointed as Vice President of Iraq, where his powers were limited; among his actions was postponing the National Assembly’s inaugural session in March.
On 26 February 2007, Abdul-Mahdi survived an assassination attempt that resulted in ten fatalities; this marked at least his third targeting. In 2009, his security personnel were implicated in an armed bank robbery in Baghdad. He stepped down from his vice-presidential role on 31 May 2011 and declared in July 2013 that he would relinquish his retirement benefits as a former vice president.
Prime minister
On 2 October 2018, Iraqi President Barham Salih designated Abdul-Mahdi as the Prime Minister, granting him a 30-day period to assemble a cabinet. He officially took office on 25 October 2018, nearly five months following the parliamentary elections.
In April 2019, Abdul-Mahdi held talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, where they unveiled a $14 billion initiative aimed at modernizing Iraq's electrical infrastructure, with Siemens expected to play a significant role. Merkel committed to strengthening both economic and security partnerships and pledged continued support for Iraq’s rebuilding efforts.
After several weeks marked by intense protests, Abdul-Mahdi declared his intention to resign on 29 November 2019; the Iraqi parliament ratified his resignation on 1 December 2019.