عبد الرحمن عارف
Hardan played the major role in this coup by delivering the final blow. During the 1968 coup, in the early hours of 17 July 1968, Hardan telephoned the sitting Prime Minister Abdul Rahman Arif to inform him that he had been removed from office. Hardan then escorted Arif to the airport where the deposed Prime Minister was flown out of the country.