Jafar Pasha al-Askari | |
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3rd Prime Minister of Iraq | |
In office 22 November 1923 – 3 August 1924 |
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Monarch | Faisal I |
Preceded by | Abd al-Muhsin as-Sa'dun |
Succeeded by | Yasin al-Hashimi |
In office 21 November 1926 – 11 January 1928 |
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Monarch | Faisal I |
Preceded by | Abd al-Muhsin as-Sa'dun |
Succeeded by | Abd al-Muhsin as-Sa'dun |
Personal details | |
Born | September 15, 1885 |
Died | October 29, 1936 (aged 51) |
Ja'far Pasha al-Askari (Arabic: جعفر العسكري ) (September 15, 1885 – October 29, 1936) served twice as prime minister of Iraq: from November 22, 1923, to August 3, 1924; and from November 21, 1926, to December 31, 1927.
Al-Askari served in the Ottoman Empire Army during World War I until he was captured by British forces attacking the Empire from Egypt. After he was released he was converted to the cause of Arab nationalism and joined forces with Amir Faisal and T. E. Lawrence (Lawerence of Arabia), with his brother-in-law, Nuri as-Said, who would also serve as prime minister of Iraq. Al-Askari took part in the conquest of Damascus in 1918 and supported placing Faisal on the Syrian throne. When Faisal was deposed by the French in 1920, he advocated granting him a new throne in Iraq.
As a reward for his loyalty, Faisal granted Al-Askari several important cabinet positions, including minister of defense in the first Iraqi government. He served as prime minister twice, and was also minister of foreign affairs. Al-Askari was minister of defense in Yasin al-Hashimi's government when it was overthrown by Chief of Staff Bakr Sidqi in 1936, in Iraq's first coup. Al-Askari was assassinated during the coup.
Ja’far Pasha al-Askari was born on September 15, 1885 in Baghdad, when it was still part of the Ottoman Empire. The fourth of five brothers and one sister, his family were of Arab origin. But according to Yitzhak Nakash, the family were descendants of the Turkish origin. His father, Mustafa Abdul Rahman Al-Mudarris, was a colonel in the Ottoman Army. Ja’far attended the Military College in Baghdad before transferring to the Military College in the Ottoman capital of Constantinople, where he graduated in 1904 as a Second Lieutenant. He was then sent to the Sixth Army stationed in Baghdad. Ja’far then was sent to Berlin, Germany from 1910-1912 to train and study as part of an Ottoman initiative to reform the army through the selection of officers via competition. Al-Askari stayed in this program until ordered back to the Ottoman Empire to fight in the war between the Ottoman Empire and the Balkan States.