Tariq Aziz
Tariq Aziz (Arabic: طارق عزيز Ṭāriq ʿAzīz, 28 April 1936 – 5 June 2015) was an Iraqi politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and a close advisor of President Saddam Hussein. Their association began in the 1950s when both were activists for the then-banned Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. He was both an Arab nationalist and a member of the Chaldean Catholic Church.
Tariq Aziz طارق عزيز | |
|---|---|
Aziz in 2001 | |
| Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq | |
| In office 16 July 1979 – 9 April 2003 | |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 11 November 1983 – 19 December 1991 | |
| President | Saddam Hussein |
| Preceded by | Sa'dun Hammadi |
| Succeeded by | Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf |
| Member of the Revolutionary Command Council | |
| In office 16 July 1979 – 9 April 2003 | |
| Member of the Regional Command of the Iraqi Regional Branch | |
| In office 1 August 1965 – 9 April 2003 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mikhail Yuhanna 28 April 1936 Tel Keppe, Kingdom of Iraq |
| Died | 5 June 2015 (aged 79) Nasiriyah, Iraq |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Political party | Arab Socialist Ba'ath (until 1966) Baghdad-based Ba'ath (1966–1982) (Ba'ath – Iraq Region) |
| Spouse | Violet Yusef Nobud |
| Children | 4 |
| Profession | Journalist, politician |
Due to security concerns, Saddam Hussein rarely left Iraq, so Aziz would often be Iraq's highest level representative at international diplomatic summits. In the year prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Aziz said that the United States didn't want "regime change" in Iraq but rather "region change". He said that the Bush Administration's reasons for war were "oil and Israel." After surrendering to American forces on 24 April 2003, Aziz was held in prison, first by American forces and subsequently by the new Iraqi government, in Camp Cropper in western Baghdad.
He was acquitted at trial of some charges on 1 March 2009, but he was later found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to 15 years in prison on 11 March 2009 for the executions of 42 merchants found guilty of profiteering in 1992 and another 7 years for relocating Kurds. On 26 October 2010, he was sentenced to death by the Iraqi High Tribunal, which sparked regional and international condemnation from Iraqi bishops and other Iraqis, the Vatican, the United Nations, the European Union and the human rights organization Amnesty International, as well as various governments around the world, such as Russia. On 28 October 2010, it was reported that Aziz, as well as 25 fellow prison inmates, had begun a hunger strike to protest the fact that they could not receive their once-monthly visit from friends and relatives, which was normally set for the last Friday of each month. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani declared that he would not sign Aziz's execution order, thus commuting his sentence to indefinite imprisonment.
Aziz remained in custody the rest of his life and died of a heart attack in the city of Nasiriyah on 5 June 2015, aged 79.