Jafar al-Askari

Ja'far Pasha al-Askari (, ; 15 September 1885 – 29 October 1936) was an Iraqi politician who served twice as Prime Minister of Iraq in 1923–1924 and again in 1926–1927. Al-Askari served in the Ottoman Army during World War I until he was captured by British forces. After his release, he was converted to the cause of Arab nationalism and joined forces with Faisal I and Lawrence of Arabia with his brother-in-law, Nuri al-Said, who also served as Prime Minister of Iraq. Al-Askari took part in the capture of Damascus in 1918 and supported Faisal's bid for the Syrian throne. When Faisal was deposed by the French in 1920, al-Askari supported his bid for the Iraqi throne. As a reward for his loyalty, Faisal granted al-Askari several important cabinet positions, including Minister of Defense in the first Iraqi government, as well as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Al-Askari served as Prime Minister twice. Al-Askari was assassinated during the events of the 1936 Iraqi coup d'état, in which Chief of Staff Bakr Sidqi overthrew the government. At the time, he was serving as Minister of Defense in Yasin al-Hashimi's government. Early life and Ottoman Army career Ja'far Pasha al-Askari was born on 15 September 1885 in Kirkuk, when it was still part of the Ottoman Empire. The fourth of five brothers and one sister, al-Askari's family was of Kurdish origin. His father, Mustafa Abdul Rahman al-Mudarris, was a colonel in the Ottoman Army. Al-Askari attended the Military College in Baghdad before transferring to the Ottoman Military College in the Constantinople, where he graduated in 1904 as a Second Lieutenant. He was then sent to the Sixth Army, stationed in Baghdad. Al-Askari was then sent to Berlin from 1910 to 1912 to train and study as part of an Ottoman initiative to reform the army through the selection of officers via competition. Al-Askari stayed in this program until ordered back to the Ottoman Empire to fight in the Balkan Wars.