Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr
In 1977, Khairallah was appointed as the new Minister of Defence, taking over from Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, then Iraqi President and Secretary of the Iraqi Regional Command of the Ba'ath Party. He was also appointed Minister of State, and held membership ini both the Ba'ath Party Regional Command and the Revolutionary Command Council, the primary decision-making body in Iraq. In 1979, he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister.