President Fuad Masum Name Khaled al-Obaidi Religion Islam | Preceded by Saadoun al-Dulaimi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi | |
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Political party Itihad al-Quwa al-Wataniyah Alma mater University of Baghdad, Keele University | ||
Khaled Yassin al-Obaidi was the Iraqi Defense Minister from 2014 to 2016.
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Biography
Khalid Yassin al-Obaidi is a Sunni Muslim who was born in Mosul. He belongs to the al-Obaidi tribal confederation. al-Obaidi is a member of the Iraqi parliament's Itihad al-Quwa al-Wataniyah bloc. He holds two master's degree in engineering and military science as well as a doctorate in political science. He served in the Iraqi Air Force, specialising in engineering aircraft engines until 2003 when he was appointed as a university professor by the Ministry of Higher Education. He was appointed as the Technical Education Authority by the Ministry of Education in 2007 and has also served as a security advisor for the Nineveh Governor. He was nominated for the post of Defense Minister in 2010 however he was rejected. He was also a Major general in the Iraqi Army.
On 18 October 2014, he was appointed as the Defence Minister of Iraq. In August 2016, al-Obeidi was voted out of power through a no-confidence vote in the parliament, with majority of lawmakers voting against him over allegations of corruption. He is the first incumbent defence minister to receive a no-confidence vote in Iraq after the toppling of the Iraqi government in 2003. Othman Ghanm was appointed as the interim Defence Minister by the Iraqi government on 29 August 2016.