Iraq: Legislature

- Pre-war information (prior to March 20, 2003)

The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) headed by L. Paul Bremer III, a retired American diplomat and counterterrorism expert, appointed a 25-member Iraqi Governing Council on July 13, 2003. The Council has legislative and executive powers subject to veto by the CPA. The members of the Iraqi Governing Council, chosen by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), are:
1. Samir Shakir Mahmoud (Sunni) - belongs to the al-Sumaidy clan which believes its origins can be traced back to the Prophet Muhammed
2. Sondul Chapouk (Turkmen) - She is a trained engineer and teacher, as well as being a women's activist.
3. Ahmed Chalabi, Iraqi National Congress (Shia) - founded in 1992 the Iraqi National Congress.
4. Naseer al-Chaderchi, National Democratic Party (Sunni) – is the Leader of the NDP.
5. Adnan Pachachi, former foreign minister (Sunni) - served as a minister from 1965 to 1967.
6. Mohammed Bahr al-Ulloum, cleric from Najaf (Shia) – a religious scholar viewed as a liberal.
7. Massoud Barzani, Kurdistan Democratic Party (Sunni Kurd) - commands the armed militia fighters, known as peshmerga, and controls a large area of north-western Iraq.
8. Jalal Talabani, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (Sunni Kurd) - a lawyer by training, split from the Kurdistan Democratic Party in 1975 to form the PUK, which controls the south-east of northern Iraq.
9. Abdel-Aziz al-Hakim, Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution (Shia) - Number two in the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (Sciri).
10. Ahmed al-Barak, human rights activist (Shia) - is the head of the union of lawyers and human rights league in the central city of Babylon.
11. Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Daawa Islamic Party (Shia) - is the spokesman for Daawa, one the oldest of the Shia Islamist movements.
12. Raja Habib al-Khuzaai, southern tribal leader (Shia) - she is in charge of a maternity hospital in southern Iraq.
13. Aquila al-Hashimi, foreign affairs expert (Shia) – she is a former diplomat who worked in the foreign ministry under Saddam Hussein.
14. Younadem Kana, Assyrian Democratic Movement (Assyrian Christian) - is an engineer who served as a trade minister in the regional government established in Erbil.
15. Salaheddine Bahaaeddin, Kurdistan Islamic Union (Sunni Kurd) - founded the union in 1991 and became its secretary general three years later.
16. Mahmoud Othman (Sunni Kurd) - founded the Kurdish Socialist Party.
17. Hamid Majid Mousa, Communist Party (Shia) - the secretary of the Iraqi Communist Party since 1993.
18. Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer, northern tribal figure (Sunni) - is from the Shamar tribe, which comprises both Sunnis and Shia.
19. Ezzedine Salim, Daawa Islamic Party (Shia) - is the head of the Daawa Islamic Party, and is based in Basra.
20. Mohsen Abdel Hamid, Iraqi Islamic Party (Sunni) - is the secretary general of the Iraqi Islamic Party - the Iraqi branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.
21. Iyad Allawi, Iraqi National Accord (Shia) - set up the Iraqi National Accord in 1990.
22. Wael Abdul Latif, Basra governor (Shia) - served as judge since the early 1980s and is currently deputy head of the Basra court.
23. Mouwafak al-Rabii (Shia) - is doctor who lived for many years in London and is a human rights activist.
24. Dara Noor Alzin, judge - A judge who was condemned to three years in jail under Saddam Hussein.
25. Abdel-Karim Mahoud al-Mohammedawi, Hezbollah from Amara (Shia) – led a resistance movement against Saddam Hussein in the southern marshes and spent six years in jail.