| Post: | Vice President |
| Body: | the Republic of Iraq |
| Insignia: | Coat of arms of Iraq.svg |
| Insigniasize: | 125px |
| Insigniacaption: | Official emblem |
| Incumbent: | Vacant |
| Incumbentsince: | 2 October 2018 |
| Appointer: | Parliamentary vote on the names submitted by the President[1] |
| Termlength: | Four years |
| Formation: | 14 July 1958 10 October 2016 (restored) |
| Salary: | 122,400 USD annually[2] |
Iraq has had three vice presidents or deputy presidents serving concurrently.
The office of Vice President was historically largely ceremonial but prestigious. In post-war Iraq, the Constitution of Iraq, in its "Transitional Guidelines," creates a three-member presidency (or presidential) council, consisting of the president of Iraq and two deputy presidents, who must act in unison. The presidency council had three members to accommodate Iraq's three largest groups: Sunni Muslim Arabs, Shiite Muslim Arabs, and the mostly Sunni Kurds. As a unit, the Presidency Council was meant to symbolize the unity of the nation. This arrangement is required by the constitution to continue until the Council of Representatives, enters its second set of sessions. At this point, the Presidency Council would be replaced by a solitary President of the Republic, who would have only one deputy, the vice-president. In any case, the Presidency is appointed by the Council of Representatives. The three-member arrangement was a hold-over from the Iraqi Interim Government and the Iraqi Transitional Government.
In September 2014, three new vice presidents were elected: former prime ministers Nouri al-Maliki and Ayad Allawi and former speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi.[3]
On August 11, 2015, the Council of Representatives approved the plan proposed by the al Abadi government to eliminate the positions of vice president and deputy prime minister.[4] However, this decision was met with opposition, and Osama al-Nujaifi filed a constitutional complaint. Nuri al-Maliki also expressed his determination to retain his position.[5] [6]
On October 10, 2016, Federal Supreme Court of Iraq of Iraq ruled that the abolition of the three vice president posts was unconstitutional.[7] Consequently, the positions were reinstated. However, since October 2, 2018, the three vice president offices have remained vacant.
The Ba'athist regime of Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr and Saddam Hussein also used the office of Vice President. However, the post was not as influential as the Vice Chairmen of the Revolutionary Command Council. Vice Presidents were appointed at the discretion of the President.
| Portrait | Name | Term of office | Political party | President | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||||
| → • Iraqi Republic (pre–Ba'ath Party) (1958–1968) • → | ||||||||
| Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr أحمد حسن البكر | 18 November 1963 | 4 January 1964 | Iraqi Ba'ath Party | Abdul Salam Arif | [8] | |||
| → • Iraqi Republic (under Ba'ath Party) (1968–2003) • → | ||||||||
| Saddam Hussein صدام حسين | July 1968 | July 1979 | years | Iraqi Ba'ath Party | Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr | |||
| Hardan al-Tikriti حردان عبدالغفار التكريتي | 3 April 1970 | October 1970 | Iraqi Ba'ath Party | [9] | ||||
| Salih Mahdi Ammash صالح مهدي عماش | 3 April 1970 | December 1971 | Iraqi Ba'ath Party | |||||
| Taha Muhie-eldin Marouf طه محيي الدين معروف | April 1974 | April 2003 | years | Iraqi Ba'ath Party | Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr Saddam Hussein | [10] [11] [12] | ||
| Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri عزة إبراهيم الدوري | July 1979 | April 2003 | Iraqi Ba'ath Party | Saddam Hussein | ||||
| Taha Yassin Ramadan طه ياسين رمضان الجزراوي | March 1991 | April 2003 | Iraqi Ba'ath Party | |||||
| Portrait | Name | Term of office | Political party | President | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||||
| Ibrahim al-Jaafari إبراهيم الجعفري | 1 June 2004 | 7 April 2005 | Islamic Dawa Party | Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer | [13] | |||
| Rowsch Shaways روز نورى شاويس | 1 June 2004 | 7 April 2005 | Kurdistan Democratic Party | |||||
| Adil Abdul-Mahdi عادل عبد المهدي | 7 April 2005 | 11 July 2011 | Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq | Jalal Talabani | [14] [15] | |||
| Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer غازي مشعل عجيل الياور | 7 April 2005 | 22 April 2006 | The Iraqis | |||||
| Tariq al-Hashimi طارق الهاشمي | 22 April 2006 | 10 September 2012 | Iraqi Islamic Party | |||||
| Khodair al-Khozaei خضير الخزاعي | 13 May 2011 | 9 September 2014 | Islamic Dawa Party – Iraq Organisation | Jalal Talabani Fuad Masum | ||||
| Nouri al-Maliki نوري المالكي | 9 September 2014 | 11 August 2015 | Islamic Dawa Party | Fuad Masum | [16] | |||
| Osama al-Nujaifi أسامة النجيفي | 9 September 2014 | 11 August 2015 | Muttahidoon | |||||
| Ayad Allawi أياد علاوي | 9 September 2014 | 11 August 2015 | Iraqi National Accord | |||||
| Post abolished (–) | ||||||||
| Post restored (–present) | ||||||||
| Nouri al-Maliki نوري المالكي | 10 October 2016 | 2 October 2018 | Islamic Dawa Party | Fuad Masum | [17] [18] | |||
| Osama al-Nujaifi أسامة النجيفي | 10 October 2016 | 2 October 2018 | Muttahidoon | [19] [20] | ||||
| Ayad Allawi أياد علاوي | 10 October 2016 | 2 October 2018 | Iraqi National Accord | [21] [22] | ||||