Evolution Of Iraq’s Government From 2010-2011

Iraq's first cabinet being announced in December 2010 (Agence France Presse)

Each of Iraq’s post-2003 governments has been a national unity one. That means every party that won seats in parliament, received one or more ministries. Government offices therefore, were more a reflection of co-opting the winning lists by giving each one of them their own personal fiefs, rather than public need. After the 2010 election that led to 40 ministries. That was then expanded to 43 by early 2011. When protests broke out in early 2011, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki tried to appease them by reducing the number of cabinet positions to 30. Despite this cut the parties continue to work in the same manner. Every list, big and small that is represented in parliament, has at least one seat at the table creating a bloated government. 

In December 2010, Iraq’s parties came to a tentative power sharing agreement that finally enabled them to name a government, nine months after elections. Kurdistan Regional Government President Massoud Barzani brokered the deal, which became known as the Irbil Agreement. It included Maliki remaining as premier for a second term, ethnosectarian quotas for the major positions, and the creation of a new National Council for Strategic Policies, which Iyad Allawi of the Iraqi National Movement would head as a consolation for not beating Maliki. As part of the quota system, a Shiite remained premier, a Kurd, Jalal Talabani, stayed in office as Iraq’s President, and a Sunni, Osama Nujafi, became Speaker of parliament. Also, Maliki’s and the Speaker's three deputies were all split up amongst the country’s three largest groups, Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds. The forty ministries were then divided amongst the winning lists. Within the Shiite led National Coalition, which Maliki was able to put together to hold onto power, his State of Law received eleven ministries, the Sadrists six, the Fadhila Party two, and one each for the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council and Hezbollah Iraq. Allawi’s National Movement got ten, the Kurdish Coalition six, the Centrist Alliance two, and the Assyrian Democratic Movement one. Maliki’s Dawa and the Muqtada al-Sadr ended up with the most ministries of any parties with six each. That was a result of Sadr being the kingmaker in the government formation process. The political nature of the process was shown by the creation of ten Ministers of State, which were added simply to dole out to parties to get them to agree to the new government. Iraq’s leaders were also under such pressure to put together a ruling coalition, since it had been months since elections that they left several ministries such as Defense, Interior, National Security, Trade, and Electricity with no leadership. Maliki for instance, was named acting minister for Defense, Interior and National Security. All of those offices were eventually given ministers, except for the security ones, which Maliki remains in charge of. That has been a boiling issue between the other lists and the prime minister ever since then because it gives him control of all the intelligence and security forces.

By early 2011, the cabinet had been expanded to forty-three, and all of them had ministers except for the three security ones. Some of the original ministries were re-shuffled, and three new Ministers of State were added. In the end, the Sadrists added two new ministries, the Supreme Council one, and eight parliamentarians broke away from the National Movement to form the White Iraqiya, and took a ministry with them. This just added to the already bloated government with three more useless ministries to appease all of the parties.

At the same time, protests were breaking out across Iraq. One of their main complaints was about government waste. In response, Maliki announced that he would reduce the size of the cabinet by getting rid of unnecessary offices. That led to the number of ministers being cut from forty-three to thirty. By this time, President Talabani also had two vice presidents named, with Tariq al-Hashemi of the National Movement retaining his job, and Khudayr al-Khuzai of Maliki’s State of Law being named the second deputy. In the latest, re-organization, State of Law went from eleven to seven ministries, the Sadrists from eight to six, the Kurdish Coalition from six to four, Fadhila, the Supreme Council, the National Movement, and the Centrist Alliance lost one each, and Hezbollah Iraq and White Iraqiya lost their sole ministries. This was a needed downsizing of the cabinet, which was already overblown. There are still probably too many ministries that are run for the benefit of the parties rather than the people they are supposed to serve.

Despite Iraq having a parliamentarian form of government it has no opposition. Rather every party that wins a seat gets a place in the ruling coalition. This has been true of every one put together since Iraq got its sovereignty back from the United States in 2005. The latest government was the largest one yet with initially forty ministries, which would eventually increase to forty-three. Public pressure led that to being cut to thirty. Still ethnosectarian and party quotas rule the government. Each list and group fills its offices with followers, whether they are qualified or not. Other jobs are sold off, and there is widespread fraud in degrees, which are necessary to receive a civil service position. Party loyalty is the main priority then, rather than serving the public. These are all problems that Iraq will be dealing with far into the future as its political leaders have no reason to change the system since they all benefit from it.

December 2010 Iraqi Government

• Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, State of Law – Dawa, National Coalition, acting Interior, Defense, and National Security Ministers
• Deputy Premier Rowsch Nouri Shaways, Kurdish Coalition – Kurdistan Democratic Party, acting Trade Minister
• Deputy Premier Hussein Shahristani, State of Law – Independents, National Coalition, acting Electricity Minister
• Deputy Premier Saleh al-Mutlaq, Iraqi National Movement – Iraqi National Dialogue Front

• President Jalal Talabani, Kurdish Coalition – Patriotic Union of Kurdistan

• Speaker of Parliament Osama Nujafi, Iraqi National Movement – Iraqiyoon Party
• Deputy Speaker of Parliament Qusay Abdul Wahab Suhail, Iraqi National Alliance – Sadrists, National Coalition 
• Deputy Speaker of Parliament Aref Tayfour, Kurdistan Coalition – Kurdistan Democratic Party

Cabinet

• Agriculture Minister Izz al-Din al-Dawla, Iraqi National Movement - Iraqiyoon
• Communication Minister Mohammed Tawafak Allawi, Iraqi National Movement - Iraqi National List
• Culture Minister Sadoun Dulaimi, Centrist Alliance – Iraqi Accordance Front
• Education Minister Mohammed Tamim, Iraqi National Movement - Iraqi National Dialogue Front
• Environment Minister Sargon Sliwa Lazar, Assyrian Democratic Movement 
• Finance Minister Rafi Issawi, Iraqi National Movement – National Future Gathering 
• Foreign Affairs Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Kurdish Coalition – Kurdistan Democratic Party, acting Women Affairs Minister
• Health Minister Mohammed Amin, Kurdish Coalition – Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
• Higher Education Minister Ali al-Adeeb, State of Law – Dawa, National Coalition, acting National Reconciliation Minister 
• Housing Minister Mohammed Sahib Darraji, Iraqi National Alliance – Sadrists, National Coalition, acting Public Works Minister
• Human Rights Minister Mohammed Shaia’a Sudani, State of Law – Dawa, National Coalition
• Immigration and Displacement Minister Dindar Najman al-Doski Shaffiqq, Kurdish Coalition – Islamic Movement, acting Civil Society Minister
• Industry Minister Ahmad Nasser al-Dalli Karbuli, Iraqi National Movement - Solution Party
• Justice Minister Hassan Shammari, Iraqi National Alliance – Fadhila, National Coalition
• Labor Minister Nassar Rubaie, Iraqi National Alliance – Sadrists, National Coalition, acting Planning Minister
• Oil Minister Abdul Karim Luaibi, State of Law – Independent, National Coalition
• Science and Technology Minister Abdul al-Karim al-Samarraie, Iraqi National Movement – Renewal Party
• State Minister Salah Muzahim Darwish, Iraqi National Movement – Iraqi National Dialogue Front
• State Minister Salah Jabouri, Iraqi National Movement – Iraqi National Dialogue Front
• State Minister Abdul al-Mahdi al-Mutayri, Iraqi National Alliance – Sadrists, National Coalition
• State Minister Bushra Hussain Saleh, Iraqi National Alliance – Fadhila, National Coalition 
• State Minister Hassan al-Sari, Iraqi National Alliance – Hezbollah Iraq, National Coalition 
• State Minister for Foreign Affairs Ali al-Sajri, Centrist Alliance – Constitution Party
• State Minister for Government Spokesmanship Ali al-Dabbagh, State of Law – Independents, National Coalition 
• State Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Safi al-Din al-Safi, State of Law – Independents, National Coalition 
• State Minister for Provincial Affairs Turan Matthaw Hassan, Iraqi National Movement – Iraqi Turkmen Front
• State Minister for Tribal Affairs Jamal Batikh, Iraqi National Movement
• Tourism Minister Lewaa Smisam, Iraqi National Alliance – Sadrists, National Coalition
• Transportation Minister Hadi al-Ameri, Iraqi National Alliance – SIIC, National Coalition
• Youth and Sports Minister Jasim Mohammed Jaffar, State of Law – Islamic Union of Iraqi Turkmen, National Coalition

Government Positions By List:

National Coalition 24
State of Law 13
• Dawa 7
• Independents 5
• Islamic Union of Iraqi Turkmen 1
Iraqi National Alliance 11
• Sadrists 7
• Fadhila 2
• Hezbollah Iraq 1
• Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council 1

Iraqi National Movement 12
• Iraqi National Dialogue Front 4
• Iraqiyoon 2
• Renewal Party 1
• Solution Party 1
• Iraqi National List 1
• National Future Gathering 1
• Iraqi Turkmen Front 1

Kurdish Coalition 9
• Kurdistan Democratic Party 5
• Patriotic Union of Kurdistan 2
• Islamic Movement  2

Centrist Alliance 2
• Constitution Party 1
• Iraqi Accordance Front 1

Assyrian Democratic Movement 1

April 2011 Iraqi Government

• Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, State of Law – Dawa, National Coalition, acting Interior, Defense, and National Security Ministers
• Deputy Premier Rowsch Nouri Shaways, Kurdish Coalition – Kurdistan Democratic Party 
• Deputy Premier Hussein Shahristani, State of Law – Independents, National Coalition
• Deputy Premier Saleh al-Mutlaq, Iraqi National Movement – Iraqi National Dialogue Front

• President Jalal Talabani, Kurdish Coalition – Patriotic Union of Kurdistan

• Speaker of Parliament Osama Nujafi, Iraqi National Movement – Iraqiyoon Party
• Deputy Speaker of Parliament Qusay Abdul Wahab Suhail, Iraqi National Alliance – Sadrists, National Coalition 
• Deputy Speaker of Parliament Aref Tayfour, Kurdistan Coalition – Kurdistan Democratic Party

Cabinet

• Agriculture Minister Izz al-Din al-Dawla, Iraqi National Movement - Iraqiyoon
• Communication Minister Mohammed Tawafak Allawi, Iraqi National Movement - Iraqi National List
• Culture Minister Sadoun Dulaimi, Centrist Alliance – Iraqi Accordance Front
• Education Minister Mohammed Tamim, Iraqi National Movement - Iraqi National Dialogue Front
• Electricity Minister Raad Shallal al-Ani, Iraqi National Movement – Solution Party
• Environment Minister Sargon Sliwa Lazar, Assyrian Democratic Movement 
• Finance Minister Rafi Issawi, Iraqi National Movement – National Future Gathering 
• Foreign Affairs Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Kurdish Coalition – Kurdistan Democratic Party
• Health Minister Mohammed Amin, Kurdish Coalition – Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
• Higher Education Minister Ali al-Adeeb, State of Law – Dawa, National Coalition 
• Housing Minister Mohammed Sahib Darraji, Iraqi National Alliance – Sadrists, National Coalition
• Human Rights Minister Mohammed Shaia’a Sudani, State of Law – Dawa, National Coalition
• Immigration and Displacement Minister Dindar Najman al-Doski Shaffiqq, Kurdish Coalition – Islamic Movement
• Industry Minister Ahmad Nasser al-Dalli Karbuli, Iraqi National Movement - Solution Movement
• Justice Minister Hassan Shammari, Iraqi National Alliance – Fadhila, National Coalition
• Labor Minister Nassar Rubaie, Iraqi National Alliance – Sadrists, National Coalition 
• Oil Minister Abdul Karim Luaibi, State of Law – Independent, National Coalition
• Planning Minister Ali Yousef Abdul-Nabi, Iraqi National Alliance – Sadrists, National Coalition
• Public Works Minister Adel Muhoder Radi al-Maliki, Iraqi National Alliance – Sadrists, National Coalition
• Science and Technology Minister Abdul al-Karim al-Samarraie, Iraqi National Movement – Renewal Party
• State Minister Yassin Mohammed Ahmed, Iraqi National Alliance – Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, National Coalition
• State Minister Diyah al-Asadi, Iraqi National Alliance – Sadrists, National Coalition
• State Minister Abdul Saheb Qahraman Issa, Kurdish Coalition – Kurdistan Democratic Party
• State Minister Salah Jabouri, Iraqi National Movement – Iraqi National Dialogue Front
• State Minister Abdul al-Mahdi al-Mutayri, Iraqi National Alliance – Sadrists, National Coalition
• State Minister Bushra Hussain Saleh, Iraqi National Alliance – Fadhila, National Coalition 
• State Minister Hassan al-Sari, Iraqi National Alliance – Hezbollah Iraq, National Coalition 
• State Minister for Civil Society Bashir Dakhil Qassim Hassoun, Kurdish Coalition – Kurdistan Democratic Party
• State Minister for Foreign Affairs Ali al-Sajri, Centrist Alliance – Constitution Party
• State Minister for Government Spokesmanship Ali al-Dabbagh, State of Law – Independents, National Coalition 
• State Minister for National Reconciliation Amir Hassan al-Khuzai, State of Law – Dawa, National Coalition
• State Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Safi al-Din al-Safi, State of Law – Independents, National Coalition 
• State Minister for Provincial Affairs Turan Matthaw Hassan, Iraqi National Movement – Iraqi Turkmen Front
• State Minister for Tribal Affairs Jamal Batikh, White Iraqiya 
• State Minister for Women’s Affairs Ibtihal al-Zaidi, State of Law – Dawa, National Coalition
• Tourism Minister Lewaa Smisam, Iraqi National Alliance – Sadrists, National Coalition 
• Trade Minister Khayrulla Hassan Babakir, Kurdish Coalition – Kurdistan Democratic Party
• Transportation Minister Hadi al-Ameri, Iraqi National Alliance – SIIC, National Coalition
• Water Minister Muhanad Salman al-Saadi, Iraqi National Alliance – Sadrists, National Coalition
• Youth and Sports Minister Jasim Mohammed Jaffar, State of Law – Islamic Union of Iraqi Turkmen, National Coalition

Government Positions By List:

National Coalition 28
State of Law 13
• Dawa 8
• Independents 4
• Islamic Union of Iraqi Turkmen 1
Iraqi National Alliance 14
• Sadrists 9
• Fadhila 2
• Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council 2
• Hezbollah Iraq 1

Iraqi National Movement 11
• Iraqi National Dialogue Front 3
• Iraqiyoon 2
• Solution Party 2
• Renewal Pary 1
• Iraqi National List 1
• National Future Gathering 1
• Iraqi Turkmen Front 1

Kurdish Coalition 9
• Kurdistan Democratic Party 6
• Patriotic Union of Kurdistan 2
• Islamic Movement 1

Centrist Alliance 2
• Constitution Party 1
• Iraqi Accordance Front 1

White Iraqiya 1

Assyrian Democratic Movement 1

November 2011 Iraqi Government

• Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, State of Law – Dawa, National Coalition, acting Interior Minister
• Deputy Premier Rowsch Nouri Shaways, Kurdish Coalition – Kurdistan Democratic Party
• Deputy Premier Hussein Shahristani, State of Law – Independents, National Coalition
• Deputy Premier Saleh al-Mutlaq, Iraqi National Movement – Iraqi National Dialogue Front

• President Jalal Talabani, Kurdish Coalition – Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
• Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, Iraqi National Movement – Renewal Party
• Vice President Khudayr al-Khuzai, State of Law – Dawa – Iraq, National Coalition

• Speaker of Parliament Osama Nujafi, Iraqi National Movement – Iraqiyoon Party
• Deputy Speaker of Parliament Qusay Abdul Wahab Suhail, Iraqi National Alliance – Sadrists, National Coalition 
• Deputy Speaker of Parliament Aref Tayfour, Kurdistan Coalition – Kurdistan Democratic Party

Cabinet

• Acting Defense Minister Sadoun Dulaimi, Iraqi National Movement - Iraqi Accordance Front
• Agriculture Minister Izz al-Din al-Dawla, Iraqi National Movement - Iraqiyoon
• Communication Minister Mohammed Tawafak Allawi, Iraqi National Movement - Iraqi National List
• Education Minister Mohammed Tamim, Iraqi National Movement - Iraqi National Dialogue Front
• Electricity Minister Abdul Karim Aftan, Iraqi National Movement – Solution Movement
• Environment Minister Sargon Sliwa Lazar, Assyrian Democratic Movement 
• Finance Minister Rafi Issawi, Iraqi National Movement – National Future Gathering 
• Foreign Affairs Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Kurdish Coalition – Kurdistan Democratic Party
• Health Minister Mohammed Amin, Kurdish Coalition – Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
• Higher Education Minister Ali al-Adeeb, State of Law – Dawa, National Coalition 
• Housing Minister Mohammed Sahib Darraji, Iraqi National Alliance – Sadrists, National Coalition
• Human Rights Minister Mohammed Shaia’a Sudani, State of Law – Dawa, National Coalition
• Immigration and Displacement Minister Dindar Najman al-Doski Shaffiqq, Kurdish Coalition – Islamic Movement
• Industry Minister Ahmad Nasser al-Dalli Karbuli, Iraqi National Movement - Solution Party
• Deputy Interior Minister Adnan Asadi, State of Law – Dawa, National Coalition
• Justice Minister Hassan Shammari, Iraqi National Alliance – Fadhila, National Coalition
• Labor Minister Nassar Rubaie, Iraqi National Alliance – Sadrists, National Coalition 
• Acting National Security Minister Faleh al-Fayadh, National Alliance - National Reform Party, National Coalition
• Oil Minister Abdul Karim Luaibi, State of Law – Independent, National Coalition
• Parliamentary Affairs Minister Safi al-Din al-Safi, State of Law – Independent, National Coalition
• Planning Minister Ali Yousef Abdul-Nabi, Iraqi National Alliance – Sadrists, National Coalition
• Provincial Affairs Minister Tuhan Mathhar Abdullah Hassan, Iraqi National Movement – Iraqi Turkmen Front
• Public Works Minister Adel Muhoder Radi al-Maliki, Iraqi National Alliance – Sadrists, National Coalition
• Science and Technology Minister Abdul al-Karim al-Samarraie, Iraqi National Movement – Renewal Party
• Tourism Minister Lewaa Smisam, Iraqi National Alliance – Sadrists, National Coalition 
• Trade Minister Khayrulla Hassan Babakir, Kurdish Coalition – Kurdistan Democratic Party
• Transportation Minister Hadi al-Ameri, Iraqi National Alliance – SIIC, National Coalition
• Water Minister Muhanad Salman al-Saadi, Iraqi National Alliance – Sadrists, National Coalition
• Women’s Affairs Minister Ibtihal al-Zaidi, State of Law – Dawa, National Coalition 
• Youth and Sports Minister Jasim Mohammed Jaffar, State of Law – Islamic Union of Iraqi Turkmen, National Coalition

Government Positions By List:

National Coalition 20
State of Law 10
• Dawa 6
• Independents 3
• Dawa – Iraq 1
• Islamic Union of Iraqi Turkmen 1
National Alliance 10
• Sadrists 7
• SIIC 1
• Fadhila 1
• National Reform Party 1

Iraqi National Movement 12
• Renewal Party 2
• Iraqi National Dialogue Front 2
• Iraqiyoon 2
• Solution Movement 2
• Iraqi National List 1
• Iraqi Accordance Front 1
• National Future Gathering 1
• Iraqi Turkmen Front 1

Kurdish Coalition 7
• Kurdistan Democratic Party 4
• Patriotic Union of Kurdistan 2
• Islamic Movement 1

Assyrian Democratic Movement + 1

SOURCES

Hanna, Michael Wahid, “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss,” Middle East Channel, Foreign Policy, 10/1/10

Al-Mawsai, Ali, “Tens of thousands of Iraqi civil servants, among them high-ranking officials, obtained jobs on forged degrees,” Azzaman, 10/8/11

Roads To Iraq, “The “Round-Table” results,” 10/28/10

Schmidt, Michael and Al-Jawoshy, Omar, “Coveted Jobs in Iraq Breed Diploma Fraud,” New York Times, 10/10/11

Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, “Quarterly Report to the United States Congress,” 10/30/11

Visser, Reidar, “208 Days and Counting: Iraq Beats the World Record in Slow Government Formation,” Historiae, 10/1/10