Mohammad Bahr al-Ulloum

Mohammad Bahr al-Ulloum محمد بحر العلوم
President of the Governing Council of Iraq
In office 1 March 2004 – 31 March 2004
Leader	Paul Bremer
Preceded by	Mohsen Abdel Hamid
Succeeded by	Massoud Barzani
In office 13 July 2003 – 31 July 2003 Acting
Leader	Paul Bremer
Preceded by	Saddam Hussein (Prime Minister)
Succeeded by	Ibrahim al-Jaafari
Personal details
Born	1923 (age 87–88)
Political party	Independent
Religion	Shia Islam

Ayatollah Mohammad Bahr al-Ulloum (Arabic: محمد بحر العلوم‎) (born 1923) is a prominent Twelver Shi'a Islamic leader and politician in Iraq.^[1][2]

Father of Ibrahim Mohammad Bahr al-Ulloum, Oil Minister of Iraq from September 2003 to June 2004, and again during 2005.

Al-Ulloum was a longtime opponent of the rule of Saddam Hussein. After the United States deposed Saddam Hussein in 2003, as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Al-Ulloum was appointed to the Iraq interim governing council. He agreed to participate in the interim government and was appointed to the nine-member rotating presidency. He was the first president of the council, in an interim capacity, serving in that position from July 13, 2003, until August 1, 2003.

In August 2003, Mohammed Bakr al-Hakim, a friend of al-Ulloum, was killed in a car bombing. Shortly after, Al-Ulloum announced his voluntary suspension from the council, citing the failure of the council's ability to maintain law and order in post-war Iraq.^[3] He later returned to the council, and became president again on March 1, 2004, serving until April 1, 2004.

Mohammad al-Ulloum lived in London prior to the 2003 Iraq invasion, where he opposed Saddam's rule for many years. He was an active member of London's Shi'a community and was the head of AhlulBayt Centre in South London.

References

1. ^ "Who's Who in Post-Saddam Iraq". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/middle_east/03/post_saddam_iraq/html/governing_council_members.stm. 
2. ^ "Chinese President meets with Bahr Al-Ulloum". Bahrain News Agency. 26 March 2004. http://english.bna.bh/newsadmin/printable.php?ID=13338. Retrieved 1 February 2011. 
3. ^ Revolutionary and dissident movements of the world (4th ed.). London: Harper. 2004. p. 208. ISBN 9780954381127. http://books.google.com/books?id=ncoZAQAAIAAJ&q=Mohammad+Bahr+al-Ulloum&dq=Mohammad+Bahr+al-Ulloum. Retrieved 1 February 2011. 

Political offices
Preceded by Saddam Hussein as Prime Minister of Iraq	President of the Governing Council of Iraq Acting 2003	Succeeded by Ibrahim al-Jaafari
Preceded by Mohsen Abdel Hamid	President of the Governing Council of Iraq 2004	Succeeded by Massoud Barzani

Persondata
Name	Ulloum, Mohammad Bahr
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1923
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death