page_title: Ba'athist Iraq
section_title: Political system
hierarchical_section_title: Ba'athist Iraq / Politics / Political system
caption_attribution_description: English: Browse By Era Browse By Theme Browse By Country Browse By People Newsletter Join our mailing list Email* Subscribe Unsubscribe Baath Party founder Michel Aflaq (right) with Iraqi President Ahmad Hasan al-Bakr (left) in Baghdad in 1968 العربية: مؤسس حزب البعث ميشيل عفلق وهو يصافح الرئيس أحمد حسن البكر عام 1968
context_page_description: Ba'athist Iraq, formally the Iraqi Republic, covers the history of Iraq between 1968 and 2003, during the period of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party's rule. This period began with high economic growth and soaring prosperity, but ended with Iraq facing social, political, and economic stagnation. The average annual income decreased both because of external factors and the internal policies of the government.
  Iraqi President Abdul Rahman Arif, and Iraqi Prime Minister Tahir Yahya, were ousted during the 17 July coup d'état led by Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr of the Ba'ath Party, which had previously held power in 1963 and was led primarily by al-Bakr, its leader, and Saddam Hussein. Saddam through his post as de facto chief of the party's intelligence services, became the country's de facto leader by the mid-1970s, and became de jure leader in 1979 when he succeeded al-Bakr in office as President. During al-Bakr's de jure rule, the country's economy grew, and Iraq's standing within the Arab world increased. However, several internal factors were threatening the country's stability, among them the country's conflict with Iran and factions within Iraq's own Shia Muslim community.
context_section_description: The 1970 Iraqi Constitution stated that Iraq was in a transitional phase of development; in Ba'athist ideology, the transitional stage is the time when the Arab people unite to establish one Arab nation. The end of the transitional era would be marked by a permanent constitution; the 1970 constitution was only temporary. The Ba'ath Party dominated all government institutions, and the top decision-making body in the country was the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC). The RCC was controlled by the Ba'ath Party; RCC members had to be members of the Ba'ath Party's Regional Command. Saddam Hussein, as President of Iraq, was also RCC chairman and General Secretary of the Ba'ath Party's Regional (and National) Command. All decisions within the RCC had to be decided by vote; a proposition could only be enacted if two-thirds of RCC members voted in favour of it. A Council of Ministers, the cabinet, was established on the orders of the RCC to execute RCC orders submitted to it. A National Assembly existed, which was (in theory) democratically elected by the Iraqi people; the problem was that the RCC had the authority to decide how much (or little) power the National Assembly should have.
  The constitution of 1970 proclaimed Ba'athist Iraq as "a sovereign people's democratic republic" dedicated to the establishment of a Ba'athist socialist society. Although the state was officially secular, Islam was proclaimed the country's state religion (although freedom of religion was tolerated). Natural resources and the principal means of production were defined as belonging to the Iraqi people. The Iraqi government was responsible for directing and planning the national economy. If the RCC chairman died or was incapacitated, first in the line of succession was the RCC deputy chairman. There were only two RCC deputy chairmen under Ba'athist rule: Saddam (1968–1979) and Izzat Ibrahim ad-Douri (1979–2003).
caption: Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr (left), the Regional Secretary of the Iraqi Ba'ath, shaking hands with Michel Aflaq, principal founder of Ba'athist thought, in 1968.
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