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Taha Yassin Ramadan

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Taha Yassin Ramadan
طه ياسين رمضان
Ramadan in 2000
Vice President of Iraq
In office
March 1991 – 9 April 2003
PresidentSaddam Hussein
Preceded byIzzat Ibrahim al-Douri
Succeeded byIbrahim Jaafari and Rowsch Shaways
Head of the Popular Army
In office
1974–1991
Deputy Secretary of the Regional Command of the Iraqi Regional Branch
In office
16 July 1979 – September 1991
Preceded bySaddam Hussein
Succeeded byIzzat Ibrahim al-Douri
Member of the Regional Command of the Iraqi Regional Branch
In office
October 1966 – 9 April 2003
Personal details
Born20 February 1938
Mosul, Kingdom of Iraq
Died20 March 2007(2007-03-20) (aged 69)
Kadhimiya, Baghdad, Iraq
Cause of deathExecution by hanging
Political partyIraqi Regional Branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party

Taha Yasin Ramadan al-Jizrawi (Arabic: طه ياسين رمضان الجزراوي; 20 February 1938 – 20 March 2007) was an Iraqi politician and militia commander, who served as one of the three vice presidents of Iraq from March 1991 to the fall of Saddam Hussein in April 2003 and commander of the People's Army.

Early life

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Ramadan was born to a peasant family in Mosul.[1] Sources have claimed he is of Kurdish origin,[2] while his family has stated he is Arab.[3]

Career

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Ramadan graduated from the Military College and initially retired from service in 1959. He returned to the military following the events of February 8, 1963, but retired again in 1964 and spent two years under house arrest. Subsequently, he was elected as a member of the regional leadership of the Iraqi Ba'ath Party.

Taha Yassin Ramadan with Ben Ali of Tunisia, 1988

After July 17, 1968, he was reinstated in the army and became a member of the Revolutionary Command Council in November 1969. In early 1970, he presided over a special court that tried "enemies of the revolution." By March 1970, he was appointed Minister of Industry, a role he held until becoming Minister of Housing in 1976. Ramadan also served as the commander of the Iraqi Popular Army, a militia aligned with the Ba'ath Party. In early 1974, he was re-elected to the Ba'ath Party's regional leadership and acted as Minister of Planning from November 1974 to May 1976. By 1977, he was elected to the National Command of the Ba'ath Party.

Russian president Vladimir Putin meeting with Iraqi vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan in 2001

On July 16, 1979, following Saddam Hussein's rise to the presidency, Ramadan was appointed First Deputy Prime Minister. This position enabled him to oversee the activities of various ministries and state institutions, as well as undertake visits to Western European countries and the former Soviet Union.

Proposed resolution to United States–Iraq conflict

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In October 2002, four months before the United States invaded Iraq, Ramadan suggested U.S. President George W. Bush and Saddam Hussein settle their difference in a duel.[4] He reasoned this would not only serve as an alternative to a war that was certain to damage Iraq's infrastructure,[5] but that it would also reduce the suffering of the Iraqi and American peoples. Ramadan's offer included the possibility that a group of US officials would face off with a group of Iraqi officials of same or similar rank (President v. President, Vice President v. Vice President, etc.). Ramadan proposed that the duel be held in a neutral land, with each party using the same weapons, and with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan presiding as the supervisor. On behalf of Bush, White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer declined the offer.

Post-2003

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Following the fall of Saddam's government, Taha Yasin Ramadan was placed on the U.S. list of most-wanted Iraqis and depicted as the "Ten of Diamonds" in the US deck of most-wanted Iraqi playing cards. He was captured on August 19, 2003, in Mosul, by fighters of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and handed over to US forces.[6]

He was one of the defendants in the Iraq Special Tribunal's Al-Dujail trial. On 5 November 2006, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. On 26 December 2006, the appeals court sent the case file back to the Tribunal, saying the sentence was too lenient and demanding a death sentence.[7]

Execution

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On 12 February 2007, he was sentenced to death by hanging.[8] His sentence was carried out on the fourth anniversary of US invasion of Iraq, before dawn on 20 March 2007.[9][10]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Joffe, Lawrence (21 March 2007). "Taha Yassin Ramadan". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  2. ^ "Taha Yassin Ramadan". The Guardian. London. 21 March 2007. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  3. ^ "نجل طه ياسين رمضان لـ«البيان»: والدي عربي وليس كردياً". www.albayan.ae (in Arabic). 21 March 2007. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  4. ^ "Bush challenged to 'duel' with Saddam, October 3, 2002". BBC News. 3 October 2002. Retrieved 19 October 2009.
  5. ^ Kelly Wallace (3 October 2002). "W.H. rejects Bush-Saddam duel offer". CNN. Archived from the original on 17 April 2009. Retrieved 19 October 2009.
  6. ^ "Saddam's VP Is Captured". CBS News. CBS. Associated Press. 19 August 2003. Retrieved 20 March 2007.
  7. ^ "Iraqi court upholds Saddam's death sentence". NBC News. Associated Press. 28 December 2006. Retrieved 20 March 2007.
  8. ^ "Top Saddam aide sentenced to hang". BBS News. 12 February 2007. Retrieved 20 March 2007.
  9. ^ "Former Iraq vice-president hanged". BBC News. 20 March 2007. Retrieved 20 March 2007.
  10. ^ Kim Gamel (20 March 2007). "Taha Yassin Ramadan, Saddam's Deputy, Is Hanged Before Dawn". New York Sun. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 31 December 2007. Retrieved 24 April 2008.
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