Citation

Sorby K. Asian and African Studies 2015; 24(1): 102-122.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015)

DOI

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PMID

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Abstract

'Abdalmuhsin ibn Fahd, a scion of the family Al Sa'dun, was bom in 1879 in an-Nasiriya in southern Iraq. Al Sa'dun had been a notable sunni family of wealthy landowners and sayyids which ruled the great Muntafiq confederation of tribes on the lower Euphrates. His father had close ties in the Ottoman court so his son studied in Istanbul and got his commission in the Ottoman army. After the war he returned to Iraq in November 1921 and in March 1922 entered the second cabinet of as-Sayyid 'Abdarrahman al-Kaylani. Appointed to cabinet positions at the behest of the British, 'Abdalmuhsin as-Sa'dun soon emerged as a strongman willing to take action against the shi'i 'ulama' and the tribal leaders, against the wishes of a king who was aware of them. During his political career he served as prime minister four times. Although initially encouraged by the British initiative in 1929, 'Abdalmuhsin as-Sa'dun had little success in either advancing the cause of the revised treaty or in winning the confidence of the king. Disillusionment and political helplessness compounded by personal problems, led to his suicide in November 1929. It is worth mentioning that his statue decorates one of the main streets in Baghdad, "Shariat as-Sa'dun".

Language: en

Keywords

Iraq under British mandate; Problems of Anglo-Iraqi treaty conclusion; State formation in Iraq