Mohammad Bahr al-Ulloum

Mohammad Bahr al-Ulloum محمد بحر العلوم
President of the Governing Council of Iraq
In office 1 March 2004 – 31 March 2004
Leader	Paul Bremer
Preceded by	Mohsen Abdel Hamid
Succeeded by	Massoud Barzani
In office 13 July 2003 – 31 July 2003 Acting
Leader	Paul Bremer
Preceded by	Saddam Hussein (Prime Minister)
Succeeded by	Ibrahim al-Jaafari
Personal details
Born	17 December 1927 Najaf, Iraq
Died	7 April 2015 (aged 87) Najaf, Iraq
Political party	National Iraqi Alliance
Alma mater	Najaf University Cairo University
Religion	Shia Islam

Ayatollah Mohammad Bahr al-Ulloum (Arabic: محمد بحر العلوم‎‎‎; 17 December 1927 – 7 April 2015) was a Twelver Shi'a Islamic leader and politician in Iraq.^[1][2] He died of natural causes in 2015.^[3]

Al-Ulloum was a longtime opponent of the rule of Saddam Hussein. By 1992 he had moved to London where he opposed Saddam's rule for many years. He was an active member of London's Shi'a community and was the head of AhlulBayt Centre in South London. In November 1992, at the Salahuddin gathering, within the safety of the southern air exclusion zone, along with Masoud Barzani and Colonel Hassan al-Naqib, he was one of the three men to be appointed to the presidential council by the Iraqi National Congress.^[4] Mohammad al-Ulloum continued to live in London prior to the 2003 Iraq invasion.

After the United States deposed Saddam Hussein in 2003, as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, al-Ulloum was appointed to the Iraq interim governing council. He agreed to participate in the interim government and was appointed to the nine-member rotating presidency. He was the first president of the council, in an interim capacity, serving in that position from July 13, 2003 until August 1, 2003.

In August 2003, Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, a friend of al-Ulloum, was killed in a car bombing. Shortly after, al-Ulloum announced his voluntary suspension from the council, citing the failure of the council's ability to maintain law and order in post-war Iraq.^[5] He later returned to the council, and became president again on March 1, 2004, serving until April 1, 2004.

He is the father of Ibrahim Mohammad Bahr al-Ulloum, Oil Minister of Iraq from September 2003 to June 2004, and again during 2005.

References

1. "Who's Who in Post-Saddam Iraq". BBC News.
2. "Chinese President meets with Bahr Al-Aloom". Bahrain News Agency. 26 March 2004. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
3. http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/070420151
4. Andrew Finkel and Hazhir Teimourian. Turkey claims victory after forces pursue Kurds deep into Iraq, The Times, 2 November 1992
5. Revolutionary and dissident movements of the world (4th ed.). London: Harper. 2004. p. 208. ISBN 978-0-9543811-2-7. Retrieved 1 February 2011.