Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr

Marshal Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr
أحمد حسن البكر
Official portrait, c. 1968
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
48th and 56th 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	(1914-07-01)1 July 1914 Tikrit, Ottoman Empire
Died	4 October 1982(1982-10-04) (aged 68) Baghdad, Ba'athist Iraq
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

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 16 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.

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