# Chief of the General Staff (Iraq)

The chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Iraq (Arabic: رئاسة اركان الجيش العراقي, romanized: riasat arkan aljaysh aleiraqiu; is the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Iraq. He is appointed by the Prime Minister of Iraq, who is the commander-in-chief. The position dates to the period of the Independence of Iraq. Up until 2003, the Chief of Staff was the second most senior officer in the Armed Forces behind the Minister of Defence.
Since 8 June 2020, the current chief of the General Staff is General Abdel Emir Yarallah.

## List of officeholders
### Kingdom of Iraq (1921–1958)

| No. | Photo | Name (born–died) | Term of office | Term of office | Term of office | Ref. |
| No. | Photo | Name (born–died) | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref. |
| 1 | | Lieutenant general Nuri al-Said (1888–1958) | 6 January 1921 | 20 November 1922 | 1 year, 318 days | |
| 2 | | Lieutenant general Taha al-Hashimi (1888–1961) | 20 November 1922 | 28 July 1924 | 1 year, 251 days | |
| In 1924, the position of Chief of Staff of the Army was abolished and his duties were transferred to the position of Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. |||||||
| – | | Lieutenant general Nuri al-Said (1888–1958) as Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces | 28 July 1924 | 28 May 1928 | 3 years, 305 days | |
| Position reinstated 1928 |||||||
| 2 | | Lieutenant general Taha al-Hashimi (1888–1961) | 28 May 1928 | 29 October 1936 | 8 years, 154 days | |
| 3 | | Lieutenant general Bakr Sidqi (1890–1937) | 29 October 1936 | 11 August 1937 X | 286 days | |
| 4 | | Lieutenant general Abdul Latif Nouri [ar] (1888–1957) | 15 August 1937 | 22 August 1937 | 7 days | |
| 5 | | Lieutenant general Hussein Fawzi [ar] (1889–?) | 22 August 1937 | 20 February 1940 | 2 years, 182 days | |
| 6 | | Lieutenant general Amin Zaki Suleiman [ar] (1884–1971) | 25 February 1940 | 29 May 1941 | 1 year, 93 days | |
| 7 | | Lieutenant general Mohammed Amin Ahmed Al-Omari | 29 May 1941 | 2 June 1941 | 4 days | |
| 8 | | Lieutenant general Ismail Namik [ar] | 2 June 1941 | 20 December 1944 | 3 years, 201 days | |
| 9 | | General Saleh Saeb al-Jubouri [ar] (1898–1993) | 20 December 1944 | 18 August 1951 | 6 years, 241 days | |
| 10 | | General Nureddin Mahmud (1899–1981) | 18 August 1951 | 29 January 1953 | 1 year, 164 days | |
| 11 | | Major general Hussein Makki Khammas [ar] | 29 January 1953 | 17 September 1953 | 231 days | |
| 12 | | Lieutenant general Rafik Arif [ar] (1908–1992) | 17 September 1953 | 14 July 1958 | 4 years, 300 days | |

### First Iraqi Republic (1958–1968)

| No. | Photo | Name (born–died) | Term of office | Term of office | Term of office | Ref. |
| No. | Photo | Name (born–died) | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref. |
| 1 | | Lieutenant general Ahmed Saleh al-Abdi [ar] (1912–1968) | 14 July 1958 | 8 February 1963 | 4 years, 209 days | |
| 2 | | Lieutenant general Tahir Yahya (1916–1986) | 8 February 1963 | 20 November 1963 | 285 days | |
| 3 | | Lieutenant general Abdul Rahman Arif (1916–2007) | 20 November 1963 | 15 April 1966 | 2 years, 146 days | |
| 4 | | Lieutenant general Hamudi Mahdi [ar] | 15 April 1966 | 17 July 1967 | 1 year, 93 days | |
| 5 | | Major general Ibrahim Faisal Ansari [ar] (1920–2010) | 17 July 1967 | 5 August 1968 | 1 year, 19 days | |

### Ba'athist Iraq (1968–2003)

| No. | Photo | Name (born–died) | Term of office | Term of office | Term of office | Ref. |
| No. | Photo | Name (born–died) | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref. |
| 1 | | Lieutenant general Hammad Shihab [ar] (1922–1973) | 5 August 1968 | 3 April 1970 | 1 year, 241 days | |
| 2 | | General Abdul Jabbar Shanshal (1920–2014) | 3 April 1970 | 15 January 1984 | 13 years, 287 days | |
| 3 | | General Abdul Jawad Dhanuun (1936–2020) | 15 January 1984 | 1986 | 1–2 years | |
| 4 | | Major general Saaduddin Aziz Mustafa | 1986 | 25 July 1987 | 0–1 years | |
| 5 | | General Nizar Al-Khazraji [ar] (born 1936) | 25 July 1987 | 19 September 1990 | 3 years, 56 days | |
| 6 | | General Hussein Rashid (born 1940) | 19 September 1990 | 1991 | 0–1 years | |
| 7 | | General Iyad Futayyih (1942–2018) | 1991 | 1995 | 3–4 years | |
| 8 | | General Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tai (1945–2020) | 1995 | 18 July 1995 | 0 years | |
| 9 | | General Abdul-Wahid Shannan ar-Ribat (born 1944) | 18 July 1995 | 1999 | 3–4 years | |
| 10 | | General Ibrahim Ahmad Abd al-Sattar (1950–2010) | 1999 | 9 April 2003 | 3–4 years | |
| On 23 May 2003, the Iraqi Army was dissolved, and all of its officers and personnel were discharged. It was later re-established on 8 August 2003. |||||||

### Republic of Iraq (2003–present)

| No. | Photo | Name (born–died) | Term of office | Term of office | Term of office | Ref. |
| No. | Photo | Name (born–died) | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Ref. |
| 1 | | General Babaker Zebari (born 1947) | 8 August 2003 | 29 June 2015 | 11 years, 325 days | |
| 2 | | General Othman al-Ghanmi (born 1958) | 29 June 2015 | 7 May 2020 | 4 years, 313 days | [14][15] [16][17] |
| 3 | | General Abdel Emir Yarallah (born 1964) | 7 May 2020 | Incumbent | 4 years, 288 days | |