Rashid Ali al-Kaylani (1892-28 August 1965) was Prime Minister of Iraq on three occasions: March to November 1933, March 1940 to January 1941, and from April 1941 to May 1941, supported by the Axis Powers in opposition to the United Kingdom. His anti-British policies led to the 1941 Anglo-Iraqi War during World War II.
Biography[]
Rashid Ali al-Kaylani was born in 1892 in Baghdad, Iraq, Ottoman Empire to an Arab family descended from Muhammad. Kaylani became a lawyer, and in 1924 he served in Prime Minister Yasin al-Hashimi's government, under which he served as Minister of Justice. The two men were believers in Iraqi nationalism, and they were opposed to the influence that the United Kingdom had over the Kingdom of Iraq. Later, he would serve as Minister of the Interior under al-Hashimi after having an eight-month term as Prime Minister in 1933, and on 31 March 1940 he became Prime Minister once more. Ali sent Justice Minister Naji Shawkat to meet with Nazi Germany's ambassador to Turkey, Franz von Papen, and he won the support of the Axis Powers.
On 31 January 1941, he was forced to resign as Prime Minister due to severe economic sanctions put in place by the British, declining popular support for a partnership with the Axis, and eroding support of the cabinet by regent 'Abd al-Ilah. Angry with the pro-British 'Abd al-Illah, al-Kaylani attempted to have the regent assassinated, but 'Abd al-Ilah found out about the plot and fled the country. On 3 April 1941, he returned to power two days after the pro-Axis forces in Iraq launched a coup, and al-Kaylani sent troops to close down the Royal Air Force base at Habbaniyah. Prime Minister Winston Churchill responded by sending British Commonwealth troops stationed in India to invade Iraq and restore 'Abd al-Ilah to power. al-Kaylani's Iraqi Army was destroyed by the experienced British Army in a brief war that lasted until 31 May 1941, and on 1 June 1941 'Abd al-Ilah returned to power as regent. al-Kaylani fled to Persia, then to Germany after the British and USSR occupied Iran, and he then fled to Saudi Arabia in 1945. In 1958, he returned to Iraq after the overthrow of the monarchy, but his planned uprising against Abd al-Karim Qasim's communist government failed, and he would die in exile in Beirut, Lebanon in 1965.