Style His Excellency | Appointer Parliamentary vote | |
Term length Four years, renewable once Formation 14 July 1958
10 October 2016 (restored) | ||
Iraq has three vice presidents or deputy presidents, although a debate is ongoing about a reform to abolish their posts.
The office of Vice President was 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 the Republic and two vice (or 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 (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 also have one deputy. In any case, the Presidency is appointed by the Council of Representatives.
This three-member arrangement was a hold-over from the Iraqi interim government and the Iraqi Transitional Government.
On 13 May 2011, three vice-presidents were elected. On July 11, 2011, Adil Abdul-Mahdi resigned after he had presented his resignation to President Jalal Talabani on May 30, 2011. (Al-Aswat) (USA Today)
In September 2014, three new Vice Presidents where elected: former Prime Ministers Nouri al-Maliki and Ayad Allawi and former Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi.
On August 11, 2015 the Council of Representatives approved the al Abadi Government's plan to abolish the posts of both Vice President and Deputy Prime Minister. Further steps are required to effectively abolish them. Later, Osama al-Nujaifi filed a complaint against the decision, considering it to be against the Constitution. Also Nuri al-Maliki promised to cling to his post. On 10 October 2016, the three posts of Vice Presidents were restored by the Supreme Court of Iraq which termed their abolition as unconstitutional.
Vice-Presidents of Ba'athist Iraq
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 Vice chairmen of Revolutionary Command Council in Ba'athist Iraq. Vice Presidents were appointed on the discretion of the President.