Abdul-Karim Qasim

Abdul-Karim Qasim Muhammad Bakr al-Fadhli Al-Qaraghuli al-Zubaidi was an Iraqi military officer and <a href="/facts/Qasimism/NYanmTz0">nationalist</a> leader who was leader of Iraq from 1958 until his overthrow in 1963.
Qasim came to power in 1958 when the <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_Iraq/s1XPzxuX">Iraqi monarchy</a> was overthrown during the <a href="/facts/14_July_Revolution/rtju0LJx">14 July Revolution</a>. He ruled the country as the <a href="/facts/Prime_Minister_of_Iraq/VX0qcVfM">prime minister</a> until his downfall and execution during the 1963 <a href="/facts/Ramadan_Revolution/3cy9tt2g">Ramadan Revolution</a>. He led a military rule in Iraq. Relations with Iran and the West deteriorated significantly under Qasim's leadership. He actively opposed the presence of foreign troops in Iraq and spoke out against it. Relations with Iran were strained due to his call for Arab territory within Iran to be annexed to Iraq, and Iran continued to actively fund and facilitate Kurdish rebels in the north of Iraq. Relations with the Pan-Arab Nasserist factions such as the <a href="/facts/Arab_Struggle_Party/Ee1qvaMV">Arab Struggle Party</a> caused tensions with the United Arab Republic, and as a result it began to aid Kurdish rebellions in the Kurdistan Region against the government.
During his rule, Qasim was popularly known as az-Zaʿīm (الزعيم), or "The Leader".

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Abdul-Karim Qasim