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Chief of the Iraqi General Staff
رئاسة اركان الجيش (Arabic)
Coat of arms of the Iraqi General Staff
Incumbent General Abdel Emir Yarallah since 8 June 2020
Armed Forces of Iraq
Reports to	Minister of Defense
Seat	Green Zone, Baghdad
Appointer	Prime Minister of Iraq
Formation	6 January 1921
First holder	Nuri al-Said
Website	Official website

The chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Iraq (Arabic: رئاسة اركان الجيش العراقي, romanized: riasat arkan aljaysh aleiraqiu; is the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Iraq. He is appointed by the Prime Minister of Iraq, who is the commander-in-chief. The position dates to the period of the Independence of Iraq. Up until 2003, the Chief of Staff was the second most senior officer in the Armed Forces behind the Minister of Defence.

Since 8 June 2020, the current chief of the General Staff is General Abdel Emir Yarallah.

List of officeholders

Kingdom of Iraq (1921–1958)

No.	Photo	Name (born–died)	Term of office			Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Lieutenant general Nuri al-Said (1888–1958)	6 January 1921	20 November 1922	1 year, 318 days
2		Lieutenant general Taha al-Hashimi (1888–1961)	20 November 1922	28 July 1924	1 year, 251 days
In 1924, the position of Chief of Staff of the Army was abolished and his duties were transferred to the position of Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
–		Lieutenant general Nuri al-Said (1888–1958) as Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces	28 July 1924	28 May 1928	3 years, 305 days
Position reinstated 1928
2		Lieutenant general Taha al-Hashimi (1888–1961)	28 May 1928	29 October 1936	8 years, 154 days
3		Lieutenant general Bakr Sidqi (1890–1937)	29 October 1936	11 August 1937  X	286 days
4		Lieutenant general Abdul Latif Nouri [ar] (1888–1957)	15 August 1937	22 August 1937	7 days
5		Lieutenant general Hussein Fawzi [ar] (1889–?)	22 August 1937	20 February 1940	2 years, 182 days
6		Lieutenant general Amin Zaki Suleiman [ar] (1884–1971)	25 February 1940	29 May 1941	1 year, 93 days
7		Lieutenant general Mohammed Amin Ahmed Al-Omari	29 May 1941	2 June 1941	4 days
8		Lieutenant general Ismail Namik [ar]	2 June 1941	20 December 1944	3 years, 201 days
9		General Saleh Saeb al-Jubouri [ar] (1898–1993)	20 December 1944	18 August 1951	6 years, 241 days
10		General Nureddin Mahmud (1899–1981)	18 August 1951	29 January 1953	1 year, 164 days
11		Major general Hussein Makki Khammas [ar]	29 January 1953	17 September 1953	231 days
12		Lieutenant general Rafik Arif [ar] (1908–1992)	17 September 1953	14 July 1958	4 years, 300 days

First Iraqi Republic (1958–1968)

No.	Photo	Name (born–died)	Term of office			Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Lieutenant general Ahmed Saleh al-Abdi [ar] (1912–1968)	14 July 1958	8 February 1963	4 years, 209 days
2		Lieutenant general Tahir Yahya (1916–1986)	8 February 1963	20 November 1963	285 days
3		Lieutenant general Abdul Rahman Arif (1916–2007)	20 November 1963	15 April 1966	2 years, 146 days
4		Lieutenant general Hamudi Mahdi [ar]	15 April 1966	17 July 1967	1 year, 93 days
5		Major general Ibrahim Faisal Ansari [ar] (1920–2010)	17 July 1967	5 August 1968	1 year, 19 days

Ba'athist Iraq (1968–2003)

No.	Photo	Name (born–died)	Term of office			Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Lieutenant general Hammad Shihab [ar] (1922–1973)	5 August 1968	3 April 1970	1 year, 241 days
2		General Abdul Jabbar Shanshal (1920–2014)	3 April 1970	15 January 1984	13 years, 287 days
3		General Abdul Jawad Dhanuun (1936–2020)	15 January 1984	1986	1–2 years
4		Major general Saaduddin Aziz Mustafa	1986	25 July 1987	0–1 years
5		General Nizar Al-Khazraji [ar] (born 1936)	25 July 1987	19 September 1990	3 years, 56 days
6		General Hussein Rashid (born 1940)	19 September 1990	1991	0–1 years
7		General Iyad Futayyih (1942–2018)	1991	1995	3–4 years
8		General Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tai (1945–2020)	1995	18 July 1995	0 years
9		General Abdul-Wahid Shannan ar-Ribat (born 1944)	18 July 1995	1999	3–4 years
10		General Ibrahim Ahmad Abd al-Sattar (1950–2010)	1999	9 April 2003	3–4 years
On 23 May 2003, the Iraqi Army was dissolved, and all of its officers and personnel were discharged. It was later re-established on 8 August 2003.

Republic of Iraq (2003–present)

No.	Photo	Name (born–died)	Term of office			Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		General Babaker Zebari (born 1947)	8 August 2003	29 June 2015	11 years, 325 days
2		General Othman al-Ghanmi (born 1958)	29 June 2015	7 May 2020	4 years, 313 days
3		General Abdel Emir Yarallah (born 1964)	7 May 2020	Incumbent	4 years, 244 days

See also

• Iraq

References

1. "في ذكرى تأسيسه.. تعرف على أبرز محطات الجيش العراقي". كركوك ناو. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
2. "الكاظمي يعين مجموعة جديدة من المسؤولين في مناصب عليا". الشرق الأوسط (in Arabic). Retrieved 2022-01-07.
3. Ahmed, Hamroush, (1984). Abdel Nasser and the Arabs. Madbouli Library. Pp. 136. Archived from the original on 2023-02-22.
4. Ṭāhā, al-Hāshimī; Hāshimī, Ṭāhā (1967). Memoirs of Taha al-Hashimi, 1919-1943. With an investigation and introduction to the history of modern Iraq: 1919-1943. Dar al-Tali'ah. Pp. 87. Archived from the original on 2023-02-20.
5. Muḥammad, ʻAlāʾ Jāsim (1987). Jaʻfar al-ʻAskarī wa-dawruhu al-siyāsī wa-al-ʻaskarī fī tārīkh al-ʻIrāq ḥattá ʻām 1936. Maktabat al-Yaqẓah al-ʻArabīyah. p. 155. Archived from the original on 02-22-2023.
6. Ṭāhā, al-Hāshimī; Hāshimī, Ṭāhā (1967). Memoirs of Taha al-Hashimi, 1919-1943. With an investigation and introduction to the history of modern Iraq: 1919-1943. Dar al-Tali'ah. Pp. 87. Archived from the original on 2023-02-20.
7. Khayoun, Ali (January 1, 2018). The Political Thought of Iraq's Military Elite, 1941-1963. Al Manhal. Pp. 77. ISBN:9796500435497. Archived from the original on 2023-02-20.
8. Khalid Ahmed Al-Jawal in the first part of the "Encyclopedia of Great Politicians of Royal Iraq 1920-1958"
9. History of the Iraqi Army Hassan Hussein Baghdad 1977, p. 55
10. Fawzi and the Mays Revolution, Fouad Abdul Razzaq al-Dujaili, Al-Sabah newspaper, 5/25/2016
11. Historical Dictionary of Iraq - Edmund Gharib
12. ^ List of Iraqi Army Chiefs of Staff (1944-2003) Subhi Nazim Tawfiq
13. "KurdPress :: Kurdpress News Aganecy - Baba Zebari". web.archive.org. November 24, 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-11-24. Accessed on 2023-02-20.
14. News Agency Archived August 11, 2016, at the Wayback Machine.
15. KanNews :: Lt. Gen. Othman al-Ghanimi is inaugurated as deputy ... Archived February 3, 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
16. "Al-Ghanimi arrives in UK to be guest of honor at Royal Military Parade". ninanews.com. Archived from the original on 2020-05-07. Accessed on 2020-05-07.
17. "Iraqi parliament votes to approve Othman al-Ghanimi as interior minister - Al-Ghad TV". Archived from the original on 2020-05-07. Accessed on 2020-05-07.
18. www.rudaw.net https://web.archive.org/web/20210515203654/https://www.rudaw.net/arabic/middleeast/iraq/070620209. Archived from the original on 2021-05-15. Accessed on 2021-05-15.
19. "Iraqi forces close to fully retaking Tal Afar from Islamic State". BBC News Arabic. Archived from the original on 2017-09-19. Accessed on 2021-05-15.

External links

• Iraqi Ministry of Defense
• Counter Terrorism Service
• Website of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces
• Volunteer Management Directorate

v t e Iraqi security forces
Military	Ministry of Defence Iraqi Armed Forces Army Army Aviation Navy Air Force Air Defence Force Special Forces
Paramilitary	Popular Mobilization Forces Tribal Mobilization
Law enforcement	Ministry of Interior Ministry of Justice Iraqi Police Facilities Protection Service Department of Border Enforcement Private Security Company Association of Iraq
Intelligence	Iraqi National Intelligence Service (General Security Directorate (2004)) Iraqi Falcons Intelligence Cell
Iraq and weapons of mass destruction Biological Chemical

• Chiefs of defence
• Military of Iraq
• Iraqi military leaders