Alaa al-Tamimi

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Dr. Alaa (Ala') al-Tamimi (b. 1952 in Fallujah) is the former Mayor of Baghdad (2004 - 2005).

Al-Tamimi was chosen to be Mayor of Baghdad on April 18, 2004, by members of the newly-formed Iraqi Interim Government, with the approval of the U.S. and coalition forces. On May 29, 2004, he took office.

Al-Tamami was removed from office on August 8, 2005, in dramatic fashion by an armed militia conrolled by the provincial government. His replacement is a member of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, which won control of Baghdad Province in the January 30, 2005 election. He was replaced by Hussein al-Tahhan, the governor of Baghdad Province. (It is unknown whether or not he has abdicated his governorship to become mayor.)

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Pre-political life

Al-Tamimi is a Shiite Muslim (yet politically secular). In 1972, al-Tamimi received his BSc in civil engineering, and, in 1979, his MSc in structural engineering, from Baghdad University. His PhD in structural engineering was received from the University Of Paris in 1985. He later wrote several books on the subject of engineering.

In 1987, al-Tamimi worked as a "director general" under Saddam Hussein's nuclear weapons program (which never succeeded in actually creating a nuclear bomb due to the interruption of the first Gulf War in 1990.)

In 1995, al-Tamimi fled from Iraq with his wife, and would not return despite the threats made by Hussein's secret police. He settled in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where he worked as a Planning Ministry advisor in 1997.

al-Tamimi as Mayor

After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the U.S. Coalition Provisional Authority, under Paul Bremer, sought the leadership potential of al-Tamimi as the new Mayor of Baghdad. He fulfilled the criteria for their ideal candidate: over 40, experience in engineering and urban planing, and sympathy for the "principles of democracy."[1]

Al-Tamimi's first action, in coordination with U.S. Major General Peter Chiarelli, was to remove concrete barriers and blast walls that had inhibited the flow of traffic in Baghdad. Al-Tamimi has publically stated his approval of the American removal of dictator Saddam Hussein, yet is critical of the American occupation.[2] "I don’t want Americans in the Green Zone, or outside the Green Zone. I want them outside Baghdad in their camps."

After being elected, al-Tamimi threatened to hand in his resignation three times in protest against the under-funding of Baghdad's reconstruction.[3] In January 2004, an Islamist Shiite provincial council was formed in Baghdad, which actively sought to replace al-Tamimi.

Resignation and removal from power

On June 21, 2005, al-Tamimi submitted his resignation from his mayoral post and was pensioned [4]. Regardless, in July 2005, the provincial council accused al-Tamimi of ineffectiveness, absence from office, and corruption.[5]

On August 8, 2005, al-Tamimi was forced from power by up to 120 gunmen, who replaced him with the governor of Baghdad province, Hussein al-Tahhan, an Islamist Shiite, backed by Governorate Council Chairman Mazin Makkiya. Al-Tamimi was unharmed, as he was not in the office at the time. Al-Tahhan, a member of the Badr Organization militia, denies that any force was required to enact the removal, which he claims is the right of the provincial council. Al-Tamimi, however, claims that a number of employees of the Baghdad Municipality were beaten and arrested during the office invasion. He considers this action a coup d'état.

Al-Tamimi: "I have already decided to withdraw. I am a man of work, not a man of conflict. I do not get involved in conflicts, I do not belong to any political party."

At the same time that al-Tahhan declares his own posting as Mayor, the Council Of Ministers intends to name "official" candidates for Mayor during their next session.

References

  1. ^  Hizzoner the Mayor, Newsweek, July 21, 2004
  2. ^  Online chat, IslamOnline, December 9, 2004
  3. ^  Baghdad mayor says gunmen ousted him from office, LeadingTheCharge.com, August 9, 2005
  4. ^  al-Tamimi interview, the day after his removal from Radio Free Europe, August 9, 2005
  5. ^  Kurdish Media News, July 14, 2005

External Sources


Preceded by:
Sabir Abdul Aziz al-Douri
Mayor of Baghdad, Iraq
2004–2005
Succeeded by:
Hussein al-Tahhan
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