Monarch Ghazi
Faisal II Name Jamil al-Midfai | Role Politician Died 1959, Baghdad, Iraq | |
 | ||
Preceded by Rashid Ali al-Gaylani (twice)
Ali Jawdat al-Aiyubi
Hikmat Sulayman
Nureddin Mahmud Succeeded by Ali Jawdat al-Aiyubi
Yasin al-Hashimi
Nuri as-Said (twice)
Muhammad Fadhel al-Jamali Born 1890
Mosul, Iraq ( 1890 ) | ||
Jamil al-Midfai (جميل المدفعي) (1958–1890) was an Iraqi politician. He served as that country's prime minister on five separate occasions:
- November 9, 1933 – August 25, 1934
- March 1, 1935 – March 16, 1935
- August 17, 1937 – December 26, 1938
- June 2, 1941 – October 10, 1941
- January 29, 1953 – September 1, 1953
Born in the town of Mosul, Midfai served in the Ottoman army during World War I, but deserted in 1916 to take part in the nationalist Arab Revolt. After the war, he was an aide to the Emir Faisal during his brief reign in Syria. He returned to Iraq in 1920, but was soon forced into exile in Jordan because of his anti-British nationalist activities. Upon his return in 1923, he served in various senior provincial capacities and finally joined the cabinet in 1930.
As a seasoned politician and two-time prime minister, he was asked to form a new government in August 1937, following the assassination of General Bakr Sidqi, who had ruled the country as military dictator for almost a year. A staunch monarchist, Midfai was again forced into exile in Transjordan following the short-lived pro-Axis coup by Rashid Ali al-Kaylani in 1941. Upon his return, he served in various senior capacities including President of the Senate and briefly as prime minister after the suspension of political activities during the Iraqi Intifada. He died in 1959 suffering from lung cancer.