Complex sentence: He became President of the Geological Society of Iraq, and of the Union of Arab Geologists, as well as Vice-President of IUGS (1996-2002), when he was a key supporter of the proposal to establish the International Year of Planet Earth.
Split into simpler sentences: He became President of the Geological Society of Iraq, and of the Union of Arab Geologists, as well as Vice-President of IUGS (1996-2002). He was a key supporter of the proposal to establish the International Year of Planet Earth.