SirAbdul Muhsin al-Sa‘doun, KCMG (Arabic: عبد المحسن السعدون; 1879 – 13 November 1929) was an Iraqi politician who served as Prime Minister of Iraq on four occasions between 1922 and 1929.
Background and early career
Abd al-Muhsin al-Sa'doun hailed from a family descended from the Sa'douns, the most powerful tribe within the Muntafiq Confederation.[1]: 188 In the mid-nineteenth century, the Ottoman Empire fostered rivalries between the dominant Sa'dun chiefs by offering enticing land deals to the highest bidders among them, pursuant to a policy of tribal weakening and division. In 1871 Midhat Pasha finally split the chiefs in two between "Ottomanizers" and their opponents by offering some chiefs permanent ownership of once communal tribal lands, when, previously, they could only exact tribute from farmers. The tribal chiefs then grew very wealthy by converting the rest of the tribe into tenant farmers for their exploitation.[1]: 74–75
When the United Kingdom took Iraq from the Ottomans following World War I, it pursued a policy whereby it lavished political and economic favours on tribal leaders in order to encourage them to exert their influence in ways conducive to British economic designs in the country. Al-Sa'doun was one of many to consistently obtain seats in Parliament in exchange for this service. Notably, however, while many tribal leaders at the time were provincial in outlook, al-Sa'doun was distinguished by being a sayyid (a descent from the Prophet Muhammad), and by having broadened his horizons at the Military Academy in Istanbul. Al-Sa'doun served as a military officer during Ottoman control of the country, as an aide-de-camp to Sultan Abd-ul-Hamid II, and as a ten-year member of the Ottoman Parliament.[2]: 34 Afterward, he returned to Iraq and embarked on a career as an influential politician.
Time in Parliament
Al-Sa'dun was a shrewd politician with many tribal and British connections, as demonstrated by his control over the Parliamentary alliance known as the Progressives. This made him one of King Faisal's most bitter rivals, as he frequently acted as an instrument of British supremacy over the Iraqi interests Faisal was trying to pursue.[1]: 190–191 In 1923, he suppressed a Shi'a movement calling for election boycotts.[1]: 190 He was President of the Constituent Assembly in 1924.[3]: 12 Then, in 1926, he assured the application of the unequal twenty-five-year "Financial and Military Agreement" between Iraq and Britain in spite of its unpopularity.[1]: 190–191
During his third term as prime minister, al-Sa'doun also negotiated the Treaty of Ankara in which Iraq promised to pay Turkey 10% of its revenues from the Mosul oil fields in return for Turkish recognition of Iraqi control of the area.[citation needed] By December 1928, popular protest over British domination of Iraq had become more fervid, and al-Sa'doun began to support King Faisal's demands for more autonomy. He resigned in protest in January 1929.[1]: 191–192
Death
On 13 November 1929, during his fourth term in office, al-Sa'doun died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His actions were considered to be a consequence of the criticism he had received from the Iraqi population and, subsequently, the British and international community for his "disloyalty". He left behind a letter to his son stating, "I have suffered with forbearance all possible insults and contempt".[6]: 102-103
Legacy
In his memory, the street where he was killed became known officially as "al-Sa'doun Street" and a bronze statue dedicated to him was built in the street.[7]
^Sinderson, Sir Harry Chapman (1973). Ten Thousand and One Nights: Memories of Iraq's Sherifian Dynasty. Hodder and Stoughton Press. ISBN9780340176184. OL10616469M.
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