Naji Talib

Naji Talib
52nd Prime Minister of Iraq 6th Prime Minister of the Republic of Iraq
In office August 9, 1966 – May 10, 1967
President	Abdul Rahman Arif
Preceded by	Abd ar-Rahman al-Bazzaz
Succeeded by	Abdul Rahman Arif
Personal details
Born	1917
Died	March 23, 2012 (aged 95) Baghdad, Iraq
Religion	Shia Islam

Naji Talib (Arabic: ناجي طالب‎‎ ;1917 – March 23, 2012)^[1] was the 52nd Prime Minister of Iraq from 1966 to 1967, replacing Abd ar-Rahman al-Bazzaz.^[2]

Early life

Talib was born in 1917 in Nasiriyah, Iraq. His family were from the landowning class in Iraq; his father was a landowner in and mayor of Nasiriyah and a member of parliament.

Military career

Talib was educated at the British Military Academy from 1936 to 1939. During 1954 and 1955 he was stationed in London as a military attaché, In 1958 Naji Talib's rank and post was that of Staff brigadier, commander, 15th Infantry Brigade, 1st Division, Basrah, and upon retirement from the army he had reached the rank of Major General.^[2]

Political career

In 1956 Staff Colonel Naji Talib was the commandant of the Senior Officers School in Baghdad. During this year he proposed the immediate union of Iraq with the United Arab Republic upon an antagonistic intervention by any of the parties to the Baghdad Pact, The Supreme committee committed itself unanimously to the proposal. In 1957 Naji Talib became the second deputy chairman of the Free Officers Movement in Iraq.^[2] Naji Talib's role in government included taking up the positions of Minister of Social Affairs 14 July 1958 – 7 February 1959, Minister of Industries 1963, Minister of Foreign Affairs 1964–1965, and finally Prime Minister 9 August 1966 – 9 May 1967.^[2] Naji Talib later became a middle-of-the-roader after holding ministerial portfolios under Qasim and in the days of the Ba'th. While politically he wavered between an independent nationalist attitude and Nasserism, he had succeeded in remaining in all the good graces of all the contending military factions.^[2]

Later activities

On November 7, 2004 a proposal was sent to then Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Anan, to form an Iraqi committee initiative on Falluja. The proposal stated that Naji Talib was willing to become a member of an initiative which planned to start a series of visits to the town of Falluja, to conduct meetings with its inhabitants, combatants, and official police there to find a just solution to safeguard the town and its people from harm as well save the lives of occupation troops.^[3]

On October 22, 2005 Talib was acting as a negotiator for the Sunnis in Iraq.^[4]

References

1. http://www.bna.bh/portal/en/news/500401
2. Batatu, H: The Old Social Classes and the Revolutionary Movements of Iraq - A study of Iraq's Old Landed and Commercial Classes and of its Communists, Ba'thists and Free Officers, Princeton University Press, 1978.
3. "Iraqi civil-society initiative for fact-finding and reconciliation in Fallujah". brusselstribunal. 7 November 2004. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
4. "Arab League aide said to return to Iraq for reconciliation". Asia Africa Intelligence Wire. 22 October 2005. Retrieved 14 September 2009.