• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Under the previous regime, the reputation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was degraded in the eyes of Iraqis and the international community. The institution, its missions and its activities, were abused to spy and intimidate in deliberate breach of internationally-accepted diplomatic practice. The professionalism of Ministry staff was undermined and any initiative was suffocated by an oppressive and corrupt working culture. Today, Ministry of Foreign Affairs personnel are undertaking diplomatic training overseas through professional development programs provided by host countries. These programs include language and information technology skills, diplomatic training in all fields and exposure to internationally accepted diplomatic practices.

The Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, later the Office of the Coalition Provisional Authority, was to work with the ministry on the missions of each embassy and where they stood in regards to its mission. Policies to build a new Iraqi relationship with the U.S. and its allies would then be created and host nations informed on how to treat the new Iraq embassy. Initial plans called for embassies in Jordan, Syria and Iran to be opened first. This would be followed by the establishment of procedures to give more rights to female citizens and learn to develop a democracy.

The ministry building was damaged by fire during the war and damage had not been assessed as of mid-May 2003. An adjacent building was to be used in the meantime although significantly smaller than the old ministry building. ORHA believed the ministry would be up and running by the end of June 2003. The Steering Committee used the Protocol building as a ministry office until damage to the original building was repaired. The temporary office building, the Protocol building, was in use by 23 May 2003 and the ministry started calling employees back shortly thereafter.

An interim minister, Mohammed Amin-Ahmaed, was appointed to what subsequently became known as the Chairman of the Steering Committee. Mohammed H. Malik was the Diplomat of Public Affairs for the ministry and had been in that position for five years. A woman, Akila al-Hashem, was appointed to the Steering Committee. Prior to the appointment, she was the Deputy Director of International Organizations. Several sub-committees were formed within the Steering Committee; Salaries and Incentives, Communication, Buildings, Finance and Foreign Missions.

The priority for the ORHA was to get ministry fully functional with minimal help. It did not want the Chairman of the Steering Committee to constantly rely on ORHA to get the ministry functioning. The ministry had about 1,000 employees, the bulk of which were not been told to report for work, as of mid-May 2003. Communication between the ministry and overseas ambassadors was better than originally anticipated following the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime.

His Excellency Mr. Hoshyar Zibari was first appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Iraqi Governing Council in Baghdad on September 3rd 2003. On June 28/2004, he was reappointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs by the Iraqi Interim Government (I.I.G) under Prime Minister Dr. Ayad Allawi. On May 3rd, 2005 he was sworn in as Minister of Foreign Affairs by the Iraqi Transitional Government (I.T. G.) under Prime Minister Dr. Ibrahim Al-Ja’afari.

On May 20th, 2006, he sworn in for the fourth consecutive time as Foreign Minister in the government of Mr.Nouri Kamil Al-Maliki which is the first constitutional governmenet since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. On Dec 21th , 2010 ,he sworn in for the fifth consecutive time as Foreign Minister in the government of Mr.Nouri Kamil Al-Maliki which was the second constitutional government.

Mr. Zebari was responsible for the Kurdish Student Society in Europe and Chairman of the Overseas Student Committee in the UK between 1978 and 1980 and in 1979 he was elected to the Kurdistan Democratic Party’s Leadership (Central Committee). Mr. Zebari participated in the armed national resistance campaign against the regime of Saddam from 1980 -1988 and became an elected member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party’s (KDP) Political Bureau and Chief Representative of the Kurdistan Front in Europe in 1989.