Salah Al-Sadr

  

Salah bin Jaber Al-Sadr
File:Moqtada Sadr.jpg The King in 2017
King of Iraq
Reign	5 December 2002 – present
Coronation	14 December 2002
Predecessor	Mubarak Al-Sadr
Heir apparent	Faisal Al-Sadr
Prime Minister	Khalifa al-Khadimi Hamad al-Matrook Farouk al-Fayyadh
Born	(1974-10-28) 28 October 1974 Karkh, Baghdad, Iraq
Spouse	Sabika bint Ibrahim (m. 1996)
Issue Detail	Nasser Al-Sadr
Arabic	صلاح بن جابر الصدر
House	Al Sadr
Father	Jaber Al-Sadr
Mother	Hessa bint Salman
Religion	Shia Islam
Military career
Allegiance	Iraq
Service/branch	Iraqi National Guard
Rank	Field Marshal Admiral of the Fleet Marshal of the Air Force

Salah bin Jaber Al-Sadr (Arabic: صلاح بن جابر الصدر, born 28 October 1974) is the King of Iraq and Supreme Commander of the Royal Iraqi Armed Forces. He has been the monarch of Iraq since 5 December 2002, and is the grandson of the previous king, Mubarak Al-Sadr. Salah was appointed as the crown prince in the place of the older Ateyatalla Al-Sadr because of his younger age and also due to Ateyatalla's role in suppressing the 1990s uprising in Iraq, as part of a new constitutional arrangement created in 2001. The country has been ruled by the Al Sadr dynasty since it became independent in 1922.

Since taking the throne in 2002, he has been seen as a reformer by some and as a reactionary by others. King Salah introduced reforms to create a limited parliamentary monarchy, but these have been criticized as being too little and superficial, as a way of placating the Iraqi opposition and delaying real change. As the king he still enjoys near-absolute power over the government.

Early life and education

Salah bin Jaber Al-Sadr was born on 28 October 1974 in the Karkh district of western Baghdad, Iraq. His parents were Prince Jaber Al-Sadr, a son of King Mubarak Al-Sadr, and Hessa bint Salman Al-Sadr.

After attending secondary school in Baghdad, he was sent to Sierra to continue his education. Salah was a student at the University of Sierra, where he studied economics, and later took military training, with courses at The Presidio, The Military College of San Francisco, which he graduated in August 1992. Later, in June 1997, he graduated from the higher general staff courses at Pendleton Military Academy with a degree in leadership after one year.

Rise to power

Upon returning to Iraq in 1992 he was commissioned as an officer in the Iraqi National Guard. Salah personally chose to join the National Guard instead of the more traditional Royal Guard, as was custom for Iraqi princes. In February 1995 he was appointed as the Commander of the National Guard. The institution had developed into a personal force loyal to the Iraqi monarchy outside of the normal military command structure, and during his tenure as its commander, Salah increased the size by incorporating conscripts and local militias into the Guard structure. This way he was able to turn the National Guard into more of a truly national force. The prince also served as the Minister of Defense from 1998 to 2001, while still in his twenties.

During the 1990s uprising in Iraq, Salah Al-Sadr was unique among the Iraqi royal family in that he opposed using force against the protestors, believing that "the people have the right to voice their opinion". Even though the prince was opposed to many of the anti-monarchist, Sunni, and leftist demonstrators, he thought that too much suppression could lead to the collapse of the monarchy. Salah favored giving the protestors some token concessions to placate them, but not compromise on the power of the king. For this reason, and also due to his young age (being in his twenties at the time), Salah was appointed as Crown Prince of Iraq in early 2001 by his grandfather, King Mubarak Al-Sadr.

During the pivotal year 2001–2002, the Crown Prince played an important role in creating the new constitution of Iraq, the National Action Charter, which envisioned a moderate parliamentary democracy to be created in Iraq. In practice, however, the King would still enjoy immense power over the political system. Still, the new constitution stabilized the country during the 2000s decade and prevented any further violence. For this reason, Salah was initially seen as a reformer when he became the King of Iraq upon the death of his grandfather in December 2002.

Reign

On the death of his father Mubarak, Salah Al-Sadr became the King of Iraq on 5 December 2002. During his early reign as king he brought further political reforms to Iraq, including the release of many political prisoners and dissidents, the abolition of the draconian state security laws, and reintroduction of democratic elections for a national parliament – which consists of an elected Chamber of Deputies and an appointed Senate. Still, despite these reforms, Salah still has near-absolute control over the system, including the power to appoint the prime minister, dissolving the parliament, commanding the army, and chairing the Judicial Council of State. Iraq's first democratic legislative election was held in March 2003.

Foreign policy

Good relations with the Sierran court

Main article: Iraq–Sierra relations

Involvement in the Syrian Civil War

Main articles: Iraq–Syria relations and Syrian Civil War

Salah supported the Anglo-American invasion of Syria in 2004 which lead to the collapse of the Democratic Arab Socialist Union and the formal dissolution of the Syrian Arab Republic providing military assitance to the invading Anglo-American forces while also hosting the Free Syrian Army, the military wing of the Free Syrian Council, and aiding its operations against the Syrian Arab Army during the invasion. Following the creation of the Republic of Syria, Al-Sadr would recognize it and seek to establish warm diplomatic relations as a means of ensuring a peaceful and cooperative neighbor and to prevent the return of the Ba'athist regime to power in the country. Iraqi military personnel has made up a large contingent of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) since its creation and have been involved in numerous combat operations against the Syrian opposition in support of government forces.

Titles and styles

Monarchical styles of The King of Iraq
Reference style	His Majesty
Spoken style	Your Majesty

• 28 January 1974 – 14 April 2001: His Excellency Sheikh Salah bin Jaber Al-Sadr
• 14 April 2001 – 5 December 2002: His Highness Sheikh Salah bin Jaber Al-Sadr, Crown Prince of Iraq
• 5 December 2002 – present: His Majesty King Salah bin Jaber Al-Sadr, King of Iraq