Hoshyar Zebari

Hoshyar Mahmud Mohammed Zebari,[3] or simply Hoshyar Zebari (also spelled Hoshyar Zibari, Kurdish: Hişyar Zêbarî; born 23 September 1953[2]) is an Iraqi politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the country in 2014 and as Minister of Finance until 2016. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2003 to 2014.[4]

Hoshyar Zebari
Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq
In office
8 September 2014 – 18 October 2014
Prime MinisterHaider al-Abadi
Preceded byHussain al-Shahristani
Rowsch Shaways
Succeeded byRowsch Shaways
Minister of Finance
In office
18 October 2014 – 21 September 2016
Prime MinisterHaider al-Abadi
Preceded byNajeeba Najeeb (acting)
Succeeded byAbdul Razzaq al-Issa (acting)
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
1 September 2003 – 11 July 2014
Prime MinisterAyad Allawi
Ibrahim al Jaafari
Nouri al-Maliki
Preceded byNaji Sabri
Succeeded byHussain al-Shahristani (acting)
Personal details
Born (1953-09-23) 23 September 1953
Akre, Kingdom of Iraq
Political partyKurdistan Democratic Party
SpouseHana Abdul-Sattar al-Dulaimi[2]
Alma materUniversity of Essex

Biography

Zebari was born to a Kurdish Iraqi family in Aqrah, a city in Duhok Governorate, and grew up in Mosul.[3] He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Jordan in 1976. He also obtained a Master of Arts in Sociology of Development from the University of Essex in the United Kingdom in 1980. While studying in Britain, he led the Kurdish Students Society in Europe and served as the chairman of the Overseas Student Committee from 1978 to 1980.[5]

Zebari joined the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in 1979. In the 1980s, he fought as a member of the Peshmerga in the Iraqi–Kurdish conflict against the government of Saddam Hussein. He went on to become a member of the KDP's Central Committee and its Political Bureau. In 1988, he was put in charge of its foreign relations and represented the party in the United States and the UK. In 1992, he was appointed a member of the executive committee of the Iraqi National Congress and was made part of its Presidential Council in 1999.[6][7]

After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Zebari was appointed a member of the Iraqi Governing Council.[8] He was made foreign minister in September 2003.[9] In July 2012, he said that al-Qaeda in Iraq members had gone to Syria, where the militants previously received support and weapons.[10]

On 11 July 2014, Zebari was replaced as foreign minister by Hussain al-Shahristani, Iraq's deputy prime minister, who assumed the position in an acting capacity after Kurdish politicians withdrew from the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.[11] On 8 September 2014, he was appointed a Deputy Prime Minister under the government of the new premier, Haider al-Abadi.[12]

On 18 October 2014, Zebari was given the post of Minister of Finance of Iraq,[13] while Rowsch Shaways was appointed the new Deputy Prime Minister in his place.[14] On 21 September 2016, he was dismissed from his position as finance minister after losing a no-confidence motion over allegations of corruption.[15]

In October 2017, Iraqi politicians and officials called on the government to investigate Zebari for nepotism after it was revealed that he had appointed his wife and seven of her family members to Iraqi embassies in various European countries.[16]

Zebari tried to participate as a candidate in the presidential elections in 2022, but was banned by the Federal Supreme Court of Iraq over allegations of corruption against him dating back to 2016. He protested the decision, stating that no court had convicted him.[17]

Personal life

Zebari is an Iraqi Kurd and a Sunni Muslim.[18] His father was Mahmoud Agha Zebari, the chief of the Zebari clan, who was assassinated by the Iraqi Intelligence Service in 1981. Three of his older brothers were also killed by Saddam Hussein's regime. His family currently consists of three younger brothers and two younger sisters.[2] He is also the uncle of Massoud Barzani, the former President of Iraqi Kurdistan.[19] His late sister Hamael Mahmoud Agha Zebari had married Mustafa Barzani and gave birth to Massoud.[19] He holds dual citizenship, being a national of both Iraq and Britain.[20]

Zebari has been married twice. His second wife is Hana Abdul-Sattar al-Dulaimi, the daughter of Abdul-Sattar al-Dulaimi, who was an advisor to Saddam Hussein.[21] His first wife was born in the town of Amedi in Iraq's Duhok Governorate.[2]

References
  1. Iraq Investment and Business Guide Volume 1 Strategic and Practical Information. IBP Inc. 23 June 2015. p. 34. ISBN 9781329244313.
  2. Ghassan Charbel (17 November 2013). "زيباري: تابعت دراستي الجامعية في الأردن مدعيا أنني إيراني من عرب الأهواز" (in Arabic). Rasseen. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  3. "Hoshyar Zebari, a consensus candidate for Iraqi presidency: Diplomat". Kurd Net. 12 May 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  4. Nadeen Ebrahim and Eoin McSweeney. "Iraq faces deadlock after 'West-friendly' candidate suspended". CNN. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  5. "H.E. Hoshyar Zebari". The University of Jordan. November 2014. Archived from the original on 21 September 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  6. Historical Dictionary of Iraq. Scarecrow Press, Inc. 2013. pp. 678, 679. ISBN 9780810879423.
  7. Zand, Bernhard (30 June 2014). "Iraq Is Facing a Mortal Threat". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  8. Zand, Bernhard (14 July 2003). "Ruling council in symbolic first step". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  9. After Saddam: Prewar Planning and the Occupation of Iraq. Rans Corporation. 2008. p. 170. ISBN 9780833044587.
  10. "Iraq warns of al-Qaeda influx to Syria". RT. 6 July 2012.
  11. "Tensions mount between Baghdad and Kurdish region as Kurds seize oil fields". Washington Post. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  12. Bradley, Matt (8 September 2014). "Iraqi Parliament Approves New Cabinet, Raising Hopes for Unity". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  13. Hamza Mustafa (18 October 2014). "Iraq parliament approves new Defense, Interior ministers". Asharq al-Awsat. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  14. Hamza Mustafa (19 October 2014). "Iraq parliament approves new Defense, Interior ministers". Asharq al-Awsat. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  15. Stephen Kalin (21 September 2016). "Iraqi finance minister sacked, risking economic fallout". Reuters. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  16. "المسلة دعوات لـ"التحقيق" في توظيف زيباري 7 من أفراد أسرة زوجته في الخارجية" (in Arabic). AlMasalah. 24 October 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  17. "Iraqi court bars veteran Zebari from running for presidency". Al Jazeera. 13 February 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  18. Priyanka Boghani (28 October 2014). "In Their Own Words: Sunnis on Their Treatment in Maliki's Iraq". PBS. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  19. "Massoud Barzani's mother passes away in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan". Kurd Net. 28 July 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  20. "Iraq seeks to bar top officials from dual citizenship". Millenial Media. 16 July 2013. Archived from the original on 28 December 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2016.
  21. "من هي عروس كردستان المدللة؟!" (in Arabic). Buratha News Agency. 17 October 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
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