Sa'dun Hammadi (22 June 1930 – 14 March 2007; ) was an Iraqi politician, writer and economist who held various positions in the Iraqi state, most notably as the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1974 to 1983, and later as the longest serving Speaker of the National Assembly under President Saddam Hussein from 1996 until the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Born to a Shi'ite family in Karbala, Hammadi pursued higher education in Beirut and the United States. He began his political career in the late 1940s, when he joined the Ba'ath Party. Hammadi is credited for introducing Ba'athism in Iraq. He rose to prominence after it seized power in Iraq in 1968. Earlier, he served as the Minister for Agrarian Reform and head of Iraq National Oil Company. As the Minister of Oil, he oversaw the nationalization of oil in 1972. In 1974, Hammadi became Iraq's foreign minister, a position he held until 1983, thus surviving Saddam's takeover of power in 1979. As foreign minister, Hammadi made state visits to numerous countries and represented Iraq. He also attended various summits with Saddam.
He was briefly the prime minister of Iraq succeeding Saddam from March until September 1991. Saddam had previously been prime minister in addition to being president, but Hammadi was forced out due to his reformist views and was made the Speaker and President of the National Assembly in 1996. He continued to be in that position until the invasion of Iraq. Shortly before the beginning of the war, Hammadi rejected the ultimatum given by U.S President George W. Bush to Saddam. Following the invasion by the U.S-led coalition, he was arrested by the American forces and was kept in detention for several months. After being released, Hammadi left for Lebanon and settled in Qatar, where he worked at a cultural center in Doha. Hammadi engaged in cultural and literary activities and wrote memoirs about his life and career. Due to ageing illness, he died at a hospital in Germany on 14 March 2007, at the age of 76 and his funeral was held in Qatar.
Hammadi was a prominent Shi'ite politician in the government of the Ba'ath Party. He earned a doctorate from an American university and was also involved in cultural activities. He was among the more widely published Iraqi Ba'ath Party leaders.
Early life Hammadi was born in Karbala on 22 June 1930, as a Shi'ite Muslim. He obtained a Master's Degree in economics from the American University of Beirut. In addition, he earned a PhD. in economics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1956. Hammadi joined the Ba'ath Party in 1949. He was believed to be first Iraqi member of the Ba'ath Party, who introduced Ba'athism in Iraq.
Hammadi said in his memoirs: "My years of study in Lebanon were the beginning of my exposure to what was outside my birthplace. I saw a new Arab country, and I contacted Arabs outside Iraq. In it, my political thinking crystallized, and the progressive nationalist trend settled within me. That was an opportunity to see some of the beauty of nature," He added. "I lived in a university environment that was different from what we were used to, a mixed environment where women were present. I witnessed this with emotion, and the feelings of youth blossomed in me".
14 July Revolution
One of Hammadi's early party missions took place in Syria, which was caught in a whirlwind of internal tensions after several years of successive coups. A significant event in 1958 was the declaration of the United Arab Republic, a union between Egypt and Syria, with Abdel Nasser and Shukri al-Quwatli signing the charter. However, unity was not easily achieved, as Gamal Abdel Nasser insisted on the dissolution of Syrian parties, a condition that was disappointing to the Baathists. In response, the Iraqi Baath leadership sent Hammadi to Damascus with a mission to persuade the Syrian Baath Party of the dangers of dissolving their party, but the mission ultimately failed. In his memoirs, Hammadi wrote:"I traveled to Damascus via Beirut and attended a leadership meeting with Michel Aflaq, Salah al-Din al-Bitar, and Akram al-Hourani. I explained my mission, but the discussion remained inconclusive. No definitive answer was given as to why the party had been dissolved in Syria. It was a typical meeting—lots of debate but no clear decision."He added:"Within the Iraqi branch of the party, there was no support for dissolving the party in Syria. However, members remained silent because the decision came from the highest leadership and was seen as the price of achieving unity."In the months following the unity between Egypt and Syria, on July 14, 1958, news of the revolution led by a group of Iraqi officers reached Baghdad. The monarchy was overthrown, and the Iraqi Republic was established, accompanied by a massacre of the royal family. Two days after the revolution, Hammadi took over the management of Al-Shaab newspaper, which had been published during the monarchy, and re-launched it under the new name Al-Jumhuriya.
Taher Kanaan explained: "The communists were not openly against unity. They claimed to support a federal rather than a full union. However, this was merely a deceptive tactic."
However, a dispute soon arose among the officers, eventually leading to a division of power into two factions: a nationalist wing, led by Abdul Salam Arif, and a faction supported by the communist parties, headed by Abdul Karim Qasim. The central issue of the dispute was the question of unity with the United Arab Republic. Arif and his nationalist supporters, including the Baathists, advocated for unity with Egypt, while Qasim and the Communist Party pushed for Iraqi independence and sought to consolidate power for themselves.
Imprisonment and Exile Following the revolution, Hammadi left Iraq for Libya to work in the research department of the National Bank of Libya. While in Libya, he secretly worked to establish a Ba'athist organization, but a political statement calling for democracy, the expulsion of foreign forces, and Arab unity led to his arrest and imprisonment for a year. Upon his release, he returned to Iraq but was arrested upon arrival due to escalating tensions between Arif and Qasim. The Iraqi prisons at that time were filled with Ba'athists, communists, and Kurdish activists.
Qasim and Aref In his writings, Hammadi provides insights into prominent Iraqi political figures, including Abdul Karim Qasim and Abdul Salam Arif. Qasim, an officer who became the president of the Iraqi Free Officers Movement in 1957 and later the prime minister following the 1958 coup, is described by Hammadi as an "eccentric" individual. Hammadi notes that Qasim's primary concern was to maintain power at all costs. In pursuit of this goal, Qasim adopted a violent approach to governance, and the inevitable clash between him and Abdul Salam Arif was only a matter of time.
Amid the political turbulence in Iraq and Syria, Hammadi chose to travel to Libya, where he began working in the research department of the National Bank of Libya. While in Libya, he secretly began organizing the Baath Party. The group issued a statement entitled "Democracy, evacuation, and Arab unity are the goals of the people," which was secretly distributed on the anniversary of Libyan independence. However, the distribution of this statement led to the exposure of the organization, and Hammadi and other members of the group were arrested. They were charged with attempting a coup, and Hammadi was sentenced to one year in prison.
Hammadi recalls that the conditions of his detention in Libya were regulated by law. Their place of detention was known, visits were permitted, and minimum legal standards were adhered to. He contrasts this with the practices of the Syrian regime, which imprisoned opponents without trial for over twenty years. Hammadi criticizes the Syrian regime's handling of its prisoners, though he refrains from commenting directly on the brutalities of Iraqi prisons. After being released from prison in Tripoli, Hammadi was arrested again upon his return to Baghdad, where an arrest warrant had been issued due to the escalating political tensions between Abdul Karim Qasim and Abdul Salam Arif. At this time, Iraqi prisons were filled with Baathists, communists, and Kurds.
1963 coup
On February 8, 1963, a bloody coup took place in Iraq, resulting in the overthrow of Abdul Karim Qasim. In the aftermath of this coup, Sa'dun Hammadi was released from prison and appointed as Minister of Agriculture. Hammadi's release and rise to power mirrored the story of Fathi Radwan, an activist in the National Party in Egypt, who was also released from prison and flown by military plane to become one of the prominent figures of the new era following Egypt's July Revolution.
Minister of Agriculture Hammadi was appointed Minister of Agrarian Reform, and during his time at the headquarters, he witnessed the final moments of Iraqi President Abdul Karim Qasim. Hammadi recounts that Qasim was brought to the headquarters alongside Fadhil al-Mahdawi, and at that moment, Qasim was composed. Abdul Salam Arif, now the President of Iraq, gathered the members of the National Council for the Leadership of the Revolution and declared: "Execution for all"—referring to Abdul Karim Qasim and the officers with him. Moments later, the shooting began. Hammadi entered the room where the execution took place, and the space was filled with the smoke of gunfire. Qasim, al-Mahdawi, and others were dead in their chairs. Hammadi would never forget Qasim's wristwatch, which was brought after the execution and placed in front of Arif, who then handed it to one of the soldiers. This marked the distribution of spoils that afternoon.
Hammadi recalled: "That evening, prison authorities informed me of my release. A military vehicle transported me to the radio station, which served as the headquarters of the new leadership. By the next morning, I was appointed Minister of Agriculture—a complete surprise to me." Hammadi described Qasim's final moments: "They brought Qasim and Fadhil al-Mahdawi to the leadership headquarters. Qasim appeared composed. Abdul Salam Arif gathered the National Council members and declared, 'Execution for all of them!' Moments later, gunfire erupted." He added: "I entered the room where the execution had taken place. It was filled with smoke. Qasim, Mahdawi, and others sat dead in their chairs. The scene was overwhelming."
Internal disputes Months after Arif assumed power, a dispute between him and the Ba'athists emerged, leading to the Ba'athists being overthrown from power, with many imprisoned. The Ba'ath Party was even banned from political activities. In his memoirs, Hammadi criticizes Arif's regime, labeling some of his decisions as "reckless and naive." Hammadi describes Arif as an "opportunist in his nationalism and religiousness, and even in his relationship with the Ba'ath Party and Abdel Nasser." Sa'dun Hammadi became a target of Arif's persecution, which led to his dismissal from managing the "Al-Jumhuriya" newspaper and an arrest order against him. As a result, Hammadi fled Iraq for Syria, but the situation in Damascus was not much better, as he continued to face persecution and pressure.
Ba'ath Party: 1968–1979 Hammadi returned to Baghdad without a job or position. He wrote a letter to Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, who became President of Iraq, and Hammadi returned to work again in the state through the Ministry of Oil.
Oil industry