Deputy Prime Minister / Foreign Minister of Iraq
"Iraq is not a weak or small country. We are a great people."
Tariq Aziz was the urbane face of Saddam Hussein's regime — a Christian Arab, intellectually polished, in rimless glasses, who could meet Western foreign ministers and make the case for Iraq's position with the fluency that Saddam could not. Born Mikhail Yuhanna in a Christian family in Mosul, he changed his name and joined the Baath Party, becoming its chief propagandist before rising to Deputy Prime Minister. During the Iran-Iraq War, he was indispensable: he secured Gulf Arab financial support, Western arms sales and intelligence sharing, and managed the regime's diplomatic relationships while Saddam directed the military. He was personally the target of an assassination attempt by the Dawa Party in 1980 — grenade thrown at him as he spoke at Mustansiriya University; he survived, and Saddam used the attack as partial justification for the war. He surrendered to US forces in 2003 and died in Iraqi prison in 2015.
Did you know?
Tariq Aziz was the only Christian in Saddam Hussein's inner circle — born Mikhail Yuhanna, he changed his name upon joining the Baath Party. He was Saddam's trusted envoy because he could meet with Western leaders who found Saddam's own personal style difficult. He secured US intelligence sharing and European arms sales during the Iran-Iraq War.
September 22, 1980 · 10,000 total casualties
Saddam's gamble that revolutionary Iran would crumble was a catastrophic miscalculation. Iran's military, though weakened by purges, was stiffened by revolutionary ideology and the fact that Iranians were defending their homeland. The failure to achieve a quick victory committed Iraq to a war it could not win cheaply — and would ultimately drag on for eight devastating years.
April 28, 1936
🌅 Birth
Born in Tel Keppe, near Mosul
1968
milestone
Became editor of Baath Party newspaper al-Thawra; prominent propagandist
April 1980
milestone
Survived grenade assassination attempt at Mustansiriya University
1980–1988
milestone
Served as Deputy Prime Minister; led Iraq's international diplomacy during war
April 24, 2003
milestone
Surrendered to US forces after fall of Baghdad
June 5, 2015
✝️ Death
Died in Al-Hilla prison hospital, age 79