Tariq Aziz

For other people named Tariq Aziz, see Tariq Aziz (disambiguation).

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
PresidentSaddam Hussein
Preceded bySa'dun Hammadi
Succeeded byMohammed 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(1936-04-28)28 April 1936
Tel Keppe, Kingdom of Iraq
Died5 June 2015(2015-06-05) (aged 79)
Nasiriyah, Iraq
Cause of deathHeart attack
Political partyArab Socialist Ba'ath (until 1966)
Baghdad-based Ba'ath (1966–1982) (Ba'ath – Iraq Region)
SpouseViolet Yusef Nobud
Children4
ProfessionJournalist, politician

Tariq Aziz (Arabic: طارق عزيز Ṭāriq ʿAzīz, 28 April 1936 – 5 June 2015) was an Iraqi politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister (1979–2003), Minister of Foreign Affairs (1983–1991) 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.[1][2][3]

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 did not want "regime change" in Iraq but rather "region change". He said that the Bush administration's reasons for war were "oil and Israel."[4] 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.[5]

He was acquitted at trial of some charges on 1 March 2009, but 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 seven years for relocating Kurds.[6] 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.[7] 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.[8] Iraqi President Jalal Talabani declared that he would not sign Aziz's execution order, thus commuting his sentence to indefinite imprisonment.[9]

Aziz remained in custody for the rest of his life and died of a heart attack in the city of Nasiriyah on 5 June 2015, aged 79.[10]

  1. ^ "Free Tariq Aziz". chaldeannews.com. Archived from the original on 11 February 2015.
  2. ^ "Minority Rights Group International : Iraq : Chaldeans". minorityrights.org. Archived from the original on 4 July 2014.
  3. ^ "Tariq Aziz Faces Trial in Iraq". chaldeannews.com. Archived from the original on 11 February 2015.
  4. ^ Burns, John F. (22 October 2002). "Threats and Responses: Baghdad's View; Citing North Korea, an Iraqi Aide Says 'Oil and Israel', Not Weapons, Spur the U.S." The New York Times. Retrieved 10 February 2007.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ Oppel, Richard A. Jr.; Mizher, Qais (22 July 2007). "U.S. Attack Near Baghdad Reported to Kill at Least 15". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  6. ^ "Tariq Aziz guilty of Iraq murders". BBC. 11 March 2009. Retrieved 11 March 2009.
  7. ^ "Russia appeals to Iraq to not execute Aziz". Reuters. 27 October 2010. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  8. ^ "Iraq's Tareq Aziz on hunger strike: son". AFP. 29 October 2010. Archived from the original on 31 July 2012.
  9. ^ Iraq president refuses to sign execution order for Tariq Aziz Daily Telegraph, 17 November 2010
  10. ^ "Saddam Hussein aide Tariq Aziz dies at age 79". Associated Press. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2017.