Khaled al-Obaidi

Khaled al-Obaidi
al-Obaidi meets US Secretary of Defence, April 2015
Defense Minister of Iraq
In office 18 October 2014 – 19 August 2016
President	Fuad Masum
Prime Minister	Haider al-Abadi
Preceded by	Saadoun al-Dulaimi
Succeeded by	Othman Ghanm (Interim)
Personal details
Born	Mosul, Iraq
Political party	Itihad al-Quwa al-Wataniyah
Alma mater	University of Baghdad, Keele University
Religion	Islam (Sunni)
Military service
Service/branch	Iraqi Army
Rank	Major general

Khaled Yassin al-Obaidi was the Iraqi Defense Minister from 2014 to 2016.

Khalid Yassin al-Obaidi is a Sunni Muslim who was born in Mosul. He belongs to the al-Obaidi tribal confederation. al-Obaidi is a member of the Iraqi parliament's Itihad al-Quwa al-Wataniyah bloc. He holds two master's degree in engineering and military science as well as a doctorate in political science. He served in the Iraqi Air Force, specialising in engineering aircraft engines until 2003 when he was appointed as a university professor by the Ministry of Higher Education. He was appointed as the Technical Education Authority by the Ministry of Education in 2007 and has also served as a security advisor for the Nineveh Governor. He was nominated for the post of Defense Minister in 2010 however he was rejected. He was also a Major general in the Iraqi Army.

On 18 October 2014, he was appointed as the Defence Minister of Iraq. In August 2016, al-Obeidi was voted out of power through a no-confidence vote in the parliament, with majority of lawmakers voting against him over allegations of corruption. He is the first incumbent defence minister to receive a no-confidence vote in Iraq after the toppling of the Iraqi government in 2003. Othman Ghanm was appointed as the interim Defence Minister by the Iraqi government on 29 August 2016.