Muhammad Saeed al-Sahhaf
| Muhammad Saeed al-Sahhaf | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Foreign Minister of Iraq | |
|
In office 1992–2001 |
|
| President | Saddam Hussein |
| Preceded by | Tariq Aziz |
| Succeeded by | Naji Sabri |
| Minister of Information | |
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In office 2001 – May 2003 |
|
| President | Saddam Hussein |
| Preceded by | Humam Abd al-Khaliq Abd al-Ghafur |
| Succeeded by | Ministry dissolved |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
30 July 1940 Hilla, Iraq |
| Political party | Arab Socialist Ba'ath |
| Alma mater | Baghdad University |
| Religion | Shia Islam |
Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf (Arabic: محمد سعيد الصحاف Muḥammad Saʿīd Al-Ṣaḥḥāf; born 1940) is a former Iraqi diplomat and politician. He came to wide prominence around the world during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, during which he was the Iraqi Information Minister under Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, acting as the spokesperson for the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party and Saddam's regime.
He is best known for his grandiose and grossly unrealistic propaganda broadcasts before and during the war, extolling the invincibility of the Iraqi Army and the permanence of Saddam's rule. His announcements were met with widespread derision and amusement by Western nationals and others with access to up-to-date information from international media organizations. In the US he was popularly known as Baghdad Bob and in Britain as Comical Ali (a joke derived from Saddam's cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid, who was also known as "Chemical Ali").
Al-Sahhaf was born in Hilla, near Karbala to a Shi'ite Arab family. After studying journalism at Baghdad University he graduated with a master's degree in English literature. He planned to become an English teacher before joining the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party in 1963. In the early days of the Ba'athist regime he read out regular announcements of recently executed Iraqis on state television. He served as an Ambassador to Sweden, Burma, the United Nations and Italy, before returning to Iraq to serve as Foreign Minister in 1992. The reasons for his removal as Foreign Minister in April 2001 are unclear, but his achievements in the position were often claimed to be less satisfactory than that of his predecessor, Tariq Aziz. At least one report suggests that Uday Hussein, son of the President Saddam Hussein, was responsible for the removal.
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