Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri

Field Marshal Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri
عزة إبراهيم الدوري
Portrait of Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri
Secretary General of the National Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party
In office 30 December 2006 – 25 October 2020
Preceded by	Saddam Hussein
Succeeded by	Salah Al-Mukhtar[1]
Regional Secretary of the Iraqi Ba'ath Party
In office 3 January 2007 – 25 October 2020
Preceded by	Saddam Hussein
Succeeded by	Unknown (most likely Mohammed Younis al-Ahmed)
Deputy Secretary of the Regional Command of the Iraqi Regional Branch
In office September 1991 – 3 January 2007
Preceded by	Taha Yassin Ramadan
Succeeded by	Unknown
Vice President of Iraq
In office 16 July 1979 – 9 April 2003 Serving with Taha Yassin Ramadan (after 1991)
President	Saddam Hussein
Preceded by	Taha Muhie-eldin Marouf and Saddam Hussein
Succeeded by	Taha Yassin Ramadan
Vice Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council
In office 16 July 1979 – 9 April 2003
President	Saddam Hussein
Preceded by	Saddam Hussein
Succeeded by	Post abolished
Member of the Regional Command of the Iraqi Regional Branch
In office October 1966 – 9 April 2003
Personal details
Born	(1942-07-01)1 July 1942 Ad-Dawr, Saladin, Kingdom of Iraq
Died	25 October 2020(2020-10-25) (aged 78)
Political party	Iraqi Ba'ath
Spouse(s)	Jawhar Majid Khalil and four other wives
Children	Ahmed Ibrahim Ali Suleiman Hamd Yusef Khaled Mustafa Abbas Omar Hawazin Abla Amra
Nickname	Ghost
Military service
Allegiance	Iraq Naqshbandi Army
Branch/service	Iraqi Army
Years of service	1962–2003
Rank	Field marshal
Unit	Political Guidance Directorate
Commands	2nd Infantry Division (1977–1981)
Battles/wars	Iran–Iraq War Al-Anfal Campaign 1991 Gulf War Battle of Khafji 1991 uprisings in Iraq Iraq War 2013–2017 War in Iraq Northern Iraq offensive Salahuddin campaign Battle of Tikrit Second Battle of Tikrit Battle of Mosul

Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri (Arabic: عزة إبراهيم الدوري, romanized: Izzat Ibrāhīm ad-Dūrī; 1 July 1942 – 25 October 2020) was an Iraqi politician and army field marshal. He served as Vice Chairman of the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council until the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq and was regarded as the closest advisor and deputy under President Saddam Hussein. He led the Iraqi insurgent group Naqshbandi Army.^[2][3]

Al-Douri was the most high-profile Ba'athist official to successfully evade capture after the invasion of Iraq, and was the "king of clubs" in the infamous U.S. deck of most-wanted Iraqi playing cards. Al-Douri continued to lead elements of the Iraqi insurgency such as the Naqshbandi Army against the then-occupation forces and waged an insurgency against the current regime in Baghdad. Following the execution of Saddam Hussein on 30 December 2006, al-Douri was confirmed as the new leader of the banned Iraqi Ba'ath Party on 3 January 2007.^[4]

Al-Douri was reportedly killed in action—along with his nine bodyguards^[5]—on 17 April 2015 in a large-scale military operation by Shiite militias and Iraqi forces near the Al-Alaas oil fields in Hemreen east of Tikrit.^[6][7][8][9] The Shiite militant organization Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq has alleged that it killed him and transported his apparent body to Baghdad to confirm its identity.^[5][10] According to the BBC, Shiite militias claimed to have killed him, but the Iraqi Baath party denied his death.^[11] A Kurdish news source also reported that Iraq did not have al-Douri's DNA to confirm his death.^[12] Al-Douri appeared in videos talking about events that took place after his alleged death.^[13] He died on 25 October 2020.^[14][15][16]