1892-1965
Iraqi politician

1. Introduction
2. Stories
3. Biographical summary
4. See also
5. Further reading
6. References

1. Introduction

Gaylani was a lawyer and a prime minister of Iraq for a total of 19 months in three terms in the 1930s and early 1940s. A strong nationalist, he resented British influence over Iraq and made overtures to the Axis powers in 1941. He was forced to resign as prime minister but staged a coup and attacked a British military base, triggering the short Anglo-Iraqi War of May 1941. He fled to Iran, then to Germany where he cooperated with Hitler. After a period in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, he returned to Iraq in 1958 but was implicated in an attempted coup and spent his last years in exile in Lebanon.

2. Stories

• Gaylani was an influential nationalist leader whose main aim was to lead Iraq to full independence from British control.
• The League of Nations proposed a mandate for Britain to administer Mesopotamia, triggering an uprising in 1920 which was quelled by Churchill.
• Churchill believed that gas was an appropriate weapon in some circumstances, advocating its use in Iraq, India and Russia.
• The borders of modern Iraq were established by Churchill’s Cairo Conference in 1921.
• Gaylani and Churchill came into direct conflict during the Anglo-Iraqi War of 1941.
• Gaylani and Amin Al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, were both leading Arab nationalists but did not have an easy relationship.
• From 1920 until Churchill’s death in 1965, Iraq had three kings, five coups and 49 prime ministers (an average of over one prime minister per year).

Gaylani was an influential nationalist leader whose main aim was to lead Iraq to full independence from British control.

Rashid Ali came from a distinguished Sunni family, with his father being the first prime minister of the new country of Iraq in its provisional government from 1920 to 1922. The younger Gaylani was a lawyer before entering politics in 1924 as minister of justice, then as minister of the interior. He helped found the National Brotherhood Party in 1930, an amalgamation of nationalist groups, and became prime minister in 1933 but lasted only seven months in a turbulent political era.

He became prime minister again in 1940 and saw World War II as an opportunity to throw off British control which had been maintained despite nominal Iraqi independence. He established contact with both Italy and Germany to seek their support and blocked the transit of British troops from India through Iraq to North Africa. Britain responded with sanctions and Gaylani was forced to resign in February 1941.

Two months later he staged a successful coup with the help of four colonels known as the ‘Golden Square’. He reimposed the ban on transiting British troops and conducted an artillery attack on Britain’s RAF Habbaniya base. Churchill commanded General Archibald Wavell to respond, leading to the Anglo-Iraqi War, lasting only 30 days. An armistice was signed on 31 May 1941 as British troops approached Baghdad.

Gaylani fled to Iran but had to move again when Britain and the Soviet Union invaded Iran in August 1941 (see Reza Shah). He travelled via Italy to Germany where he and his fellow Arab nationalist Amin Al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, spent the rest of the war. Gaylani met Hitler and Germany’s foreign minister von Ribbentrop in July 1942.

When Nazi Germany fell to the Allies, Gaylani fled to Saudi Arabia which turned down UK-supported Iraqi requests for his extradition. When the Iraqi monarchy was overthrown in 1958, Gaylani returned to Baghdad from Egypt and joined the political opposition. He was arrested for participating in a coup plot and sentenced to death but was released from prison with a pardon in 1961. He left the country and took no further part in politics, dying in Lebanon in 1965, aged 72.

The League of Nations proposed a mandate for Britain to administer Mesopotamia, triggering an uprising in 1920 which was quelled by Churchill.

Mesopotamia was the term used for the area around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, covering parts of Iraq, Kuwait, Syria and Turkey. Much of it was occupied by Allied forces during the World War I Mesopotamian campaign against Central Powers forces, mainly Ottoman. Present-day Iraq consists of three former Ottoman provinces: Basra (south), Baghdad (central) and Mosul (north). Under the 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement between the UK and France, Mosul was to have been part of the French sphere of influence, but it was ceded to the UK by the 1918 Clemenceau-Lloyd George Agreement.

In December 1920, Churchill, as Secretary of State for War and Air, proposed to the UK cabinet that the central and northern areas should be ceded to Turkey but this was rejected. A fourth Ottoman province, Zor, was occupied by Iraqi nationalists but became attached to French-run Syria as the result of the Franco-British Paulet-Newcombe Agreement in 1923.

There had been strong local hopes and Allied assurances of Arab and Kurdish independence, but the Paris Peace Process at Versailles settled on a system of League of Nations mandates whereby Allied nations would be given temporary oversight of allocated territories. The San Remo Conference in April 1920 proposed giving a mandate to Britain for Mesopotamia. The next month, Arab and Kurd nationalists rose up in revolt.

Churchill authorised the reinforcement of British forces in Mesopotamia with an additional air squadron as the RAF had been effective in quelling Dervish forces in Somaliland in early 1920. Enforcing control from the air was far less expensive than using ground troops, a key factor for cash-strapped UK after World War I.

The Mesopotamian uprising had been mostly put down by October 1920, although aspects of it continued until 1924. One of the RAF squadron leaders responding to the lingering disturbances was Arthur (‘Bomber’) Harris, who started forming his ideas about ‘area bombing’ (targeting zones rather than individual objects), a significant feature in World War II strategy.

Churchill believed that gas was an appropriate weapon in some circumstances, advocating its use in Iraq, India and Russia.

In the end, gas was not used in Iraq (contrary to some allegations) or India but there was some use of it against the Red Army in Russia (see Leon Trotsky). Churchill’s main objectives were the reduction of fatalities and the deterrence of conflict, setting out his position in 1919. ‘I do not understand this squeamishness about the use of gas’, he wrote. ‘We have definitely adopted the position at the [Paris] Peace Conference of arguing in favour of the retention of gas as a permanent method of warfare. It is sheer affectation to lacerate a man with the poisonous fragment of a bursting shell and to boggle at making his eyes water by means of lachrymatory gas.’

He continued, ‘I am strongly in favour of using poisoned gas [a generic term covering various types of gas*] against uncivilised tribes. The moral effect should be so good that the loss of life should be reduced to a minimum. It is not necessary to use only the most deadly gasses: gasses can be used which cause great inconvenience and would spread a lively terror and yet would leave no serious permanent effects on most of those affected.’¹

He explained his views further in relation to protecting British troops in India: ‘Gas is a more merciful weapon than high explosive shell, and compels an enemy to accept a decision with less loss of life than any other agency of war. […] Having regard to the fact that [India Office staff] are retaining all our men, even those who are most entitled to demobilisation, we cannot in any circumstances acquiesce in the non-utilisation of any weapons which are available to procure a speedy termination of the disorder which prevails on the frontier. If it is fair war for an Afghan to shoot down a British soldier behind a rock and cut him in pieces as he lies wounded on the ground, why is it not fair for a British artilleryman to fire a shell which makes the said native sneeze? It is really too silly.’²

* ‘Poison gas’ or ‘poisoned gas’ were common terms at the time, covering a wide range of gases, including phosgene (which caused 85 percent of World War I gas deaths), chlorine gas and mustard gas (in fact fine droplets, not a gas). It also included tear gas which was developed for police forces from 1912.

The borders of modern Iraq were established by Churchill’s Cairo Conference in 1921.

Churchill was appointed secretary of state for the colonies in February 1921 and promptly convened a conference in Egypt to clarify the situation in the Middle East. It was attended by 10 British and two Arab officials, and supporting staff. Among the British were T.E. Lawrence (‘Lawrence of Arabia’) and Gertrude Bell, archaeologist and writer. Churchill described the group as the ‘Forty Thieves’, a witticism referring to the Ali Baba folk tale, although perhaps similarly inappropriate to the signing of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles in the ‘Hall of Mirrors’. Two lion cubs were included in the photos of the attendees, on their way from Somaliland to London Zoo.

The main conclusion, which had been largely decided in London beforehand, was that two new entities should be created: the Kingdom of Iraq, ruled by King Faisal, a member of the Hashemite dynasty; and the Emirate of Transjordan (today’s Jordan), ruled by Emir Abdullah, Faisal’s elder brother (an ‘emir’ being a Muslim ruler). The name ‘Iraq’ had been used in medieval times for parts of Mesopotamia and Persia. Its meaning is unclear but the word may be derived from the Arabic araqa indicating ‘well-watered’ and ‘deep-rooted’.

The Kingdom of Iraq came into formal existence on 23 August 1921 after a referendum to approve Faisal as king. He had previously been emir of Syria (now divided into Syria and Lebanon), supported by Britain, but was ejected in 1920 after France gained a League of Nations mandate for the area.

The mandate for British Mesopotamia was never formalised because of the creation of the nominally self-governing Kingdom of Iraq. However, the 1922 Anglo-Iraqi Treaty, signed by Gaylani’s father, gave Britain control of Iraq’s foreign and military affairs. Iraq took over these powers upon joining the League of Nations in 1932, becoming officially independent in 1932, although the 1930 Anglo-Iraqi Treaty still gave the UK extensive long-term rights, including two air bases, interests in Iraq’s oil fields, transit of troops through Iraq, and the use of Iraqi infrastructure during any war.

Gaylani and Churchill came into direct conflict during the Anglo-Iraqi War of 1941.

The 1930 treaty fuelled Gaylani’s opposition to British influence but he was not in a position to do much about it until his second term as prime minister from March 1940. His courting of Germany and Italy was influenced by the initial appearance that the Axis powers would win World War II. He had little interest in fascism itself but saw that fascist antipathy towards Britain could be useful for Iraqi independence.

Similarly, Germany saw opportunities arising from anti-British feeling in the Arab world. The German ambassador to Iraq from 1932, Fritz Grobba, was influential in developing pro-German attitudes among Iraq’s politicians, military leaders and business community.

After Gaylani’s coup on 1 April 1941, Churchill refused to recognise his government. Apart from its oil infrastructure, Iraq was a relatively low priority for the UK and finding hard-pressed military resources to intervene was difficult. Gaylani sent around 9000 Iraqi troops to occupy a plateau above the RAF Habbaniya airbase around 50 miles (80 km) west of Baghdad and instructed the RAF to stop flying, expecting a negotiated surrender by the 2500 poorly equipped British forces.

However, commanding officer Air Vice-Marshal Harry Smart began air attacks on the Iraqi troops on 2 May, surprising them and causing them to withdraw after four days. The airbase received some reinforcements from Palestine on 18 May and a force was assembled which took the nearby town of Fallujah, despite strong resistance.

Meanwhile, Germany had sent aircraft into Iraq to attack British troops and facilities. Hitler issued Führer Directive Number 30, ordering German support for Iraq, which began, ‘The Arab Freedom Movement in the Middle East is our natural ally against England’.³ However, nearly all the German aircraft were destroyed or put out of action through damage.

On 27 May, 1500 British and Allied troops advanced on Baghdad, despite being heavily outnumbered by around 20,000 Iraqi soldiers. A Palestinian radio operator created a rumour on Iraqi radio networks about a non-existent column of British tanks while the RAF conducted air raids. Gaylani and the Golden Square panicked and on 29 May fled to Iran. An armistice was signed on 31 May, with British forces remaining outside Baghdad to avoid drawing attention to their inferior strength.

Gaylani and Amin Al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, were both leading Arab nationalists but did not have an easy relationship.

Husseini was Gaylani’s nationalist counterpart in British mandate Palestine and was generally regarded as the more senior in international circles, or at least the better known. Gaylani was more secular with an older following; Husseini’s followers were more radical. Husseini saw himself as the future leader of a large, pan-Arab and Islamic union whereas Gaylani’s ambitions were restricted to leading an independent, but enlarged, Iraq (he intended to annex Kuwait and parts of Iran). Another difference between the two was Husseini’s extreme anti-Semitism in contrast to Gaylani’s partial protection of the significant Iraqi Jewish community while he was in power.

Gaylani did not appreciate what he saw as Husseini’s presumptuousness about seniority and did not want Husseini to divert attention or resources from himself and his cause. He was opposed to the possibility of Husseini becoming Iraq’s head of state in a pan-Arab union.

When Gaylani met Hitler and von Ribbentrop in 1942, he mentioned his difficult relationship with Husseini, saying that the latter already believed that Hitler had identified Husseini as leader of the Arab nationalist movement. Hitler had been advised to avoid questions about Arab leadership as this had not yet been settled with the Italians, although Germany was already of the mind that it would back Husseini over Gaylani, with his broader vision and wider reach.

In doing so, Germany would need to tread extremely carefully. Turkey was neutral in World War II and it was a high German priority to ensure that it was not provoked to side with the Allies. It had a secular government but a large Muslim population and responses to Husseini’s agitations could tip the balance either way. In the end, the defeat of the Nazis eliminated the issue.

The pro-Nazi wartime stance of Gaylani and Husseini severely hindered their post-war ambitions. The restoration of the pro-British regime in Iraq kept Gaylani out of Iraq until the 1958 coup and his return was short-lived. Similarly, Husseini fell out of favour and he too ended up in exile in Lebanon.

From 1920 until Churchill’s death in 1965, Iraq had three kings, five coups and 49 prime ministers (an average of over one prime minister per year).

Iraq’s three kings died at an average age of only 32. King Faisal I had a heart attack in 1933, aged 48. His son King Ghazi (ex-Harrow School, like Churchill) died in a sports car accident six years later, aged 27. Ghazi’s son became King Faisal II when he turned 18 but he was killed five years later in the 14 July Revolution of 1958, when the monarchy was abolished. He had written a book entitled How to Defend Yourself (1951) but it was about judo which was no match for the rebels’ guns.

After King Ghazi’s car crash, rumours circulated immediately, fanned by German ambassador Fritz Grobba, that he had been killed by British agents. The next day the British consulate in Mosul was stormed and the consul was killed. Others blamed Prime Minister Nuri al-Said.

Gaylani’s 1941 coup was the country’s second, the first being in 1936, led by an army general. The third, in 1958, resulted in the deaths of Nuri al-Said and many Hashemite family members, in addition to Faisal II. The leader, Brigadier General Qasim, became prime minister of the new Iraqi Republic. Gaylani was disappointed that Qasim had no interest in Iraq joining the newly formed United Arab Republic (‘UAR’), a union of Egypt and Syria. Gaylani joined the opposition and within three years was back in exile.

The fourth coup, the Ramadan Revolution of February 1963, resulted in Qasim’s death, quickly followed by a fifth that November after a Ba’ath party split. After Churchill’s death, there was one more coup, the bloodless 17 July Revolution in 1968, ending the Iraqi Republic and creating Ba’athist Iraq, headed by Saddam Hussein from 1979 to 2003.

Churchill made no speeches in the House of Commons after the end of his second term as prime minister in 1955 but nearly broke his silence after the 14 July Revolution of 1958. He prepared extensive notes but then decided that he that he not have anything special enough to say.

After Gaylani’s death in Beirut in 1965, his body was flown to Iraq where he was buried in the Mausoleum of Abdul-Qadir Gilani in Baghdad, a Sufi Muslim shrine which is also the burial site of his father.

3. Biographical overview

Occupation	Lawyer, politician
Nationality	Iraqi
Career	Lecturer, Baghdad Law School and Court of Appeal judge (1922-24). Minister of Justice (1924). Minister of the Interior (1925–28). Founder of the Party of National Brotherhood Party (1931). Prime Minister 1933 (seven months). Minister of the Interior (1935–36). Chief of the Royal Cabinet (1938-40). Prime Minister (1940-41 for 10 months; 1941 for seven weeks). Exile in Germany (1941-45), Saudi Arabia (1945-54) and Egypt (1954-58). Opposition activist in Iraq (1958). Imprisoned (1959-61). Exile in Lebanon (1961-65).
Born	1892 in Baghdad, Ottoman Iraq (18 years younger than Churchill)
Father	Abd Al-Rahman Qadir Al-Gaylani (1841-1927), first prime minister of Iraq (1920-22); from a distinguished Sunni family; divorced his first wife, his cousin Naila
Mother	Alia, daughter of administrator of al-Gaylani family land; Abd Al-Rahman’s second wife
Siblings	One of 20 siblings: 13 sons and seven daughters
Education	Baghdad primary and secondary schools; Baghdad Law School
Spouse
Relationships
Children	Various including daughter Amel
Died	1965 in Beirut, Lebanon, aged 72 (seven months after Churchill)
Resting place	Mausoleum of Abdul-Qadir Gilani, Kilani Square, al-Rusafa, Baghdad; also the burial site of his father
Nickname
Height	5’9” (1.75 m)
Time magazine	–

4. See also

Arab nationalism

• Al-Husseini, Amin
• Nasser, Gamal Abdel
• Lawrence, T.E.

Bombing and gas warfare

• Harris, Arthur
• Trotsky, Leon

Middle East nationalism

• Atatürk, Mustafa Kemal
• Mossadegh, Mohammad
• Shah, Reza

Churchill controversies

• Arab and Kurdish self-determination
• Bombing (conventional)
• Chemical weapons
• Imperialism
• Middle East borders
• Race
• Warmongering

5. Further reading

Al-Gaylani

• Bint Ali, Mariam, I, an Iraqi: The Trials and Triumphs of a Patriot’s Daughter (Partridge Publishing Singapore, 2016) (biography about Al-Gaylani’s daughter Amel and her family)

Iraq

• Broich, John, Blood, Oil and the Axis: The Allied Resistance Against a Fascist State in Iraq and the Levant, 1941 (ABRAMS, 2019)
• Freeman, David, ‘Midwife to an “Ungrateful Volcano”: Churchill and the Making of Iraq’, The International Churchill Society, 2004 <https://winstonchurchill.org/publications/finest-hour/finest-hour-132/midwife-to-an-ungrateful-volcano-churchill-and-the-making-of-iraq/>
• Jackson, Ashley, Persian Gulf Command: A History of the Second World War in Iran and Iraq (Yale University Press, 2018)
• O’Sullivan, Adrian, The Baghdad Set: Iraq through the Eyes of British Intelligence, 1941–45 (Springer International Publishing, 2019)

Gas warfare

• Langworth, Richard M., ‘Chemical Warfare’, in Winston Churchill, Myth and Reality: What He Actually Did and Said (McFarland, 2017), pp. 80–84
• Langworth, Richard M., ‘Churchill and Chemical Warfare’, The Churchill Project – Hillsdale College, 2015 <https://winstonchurchill.hillsdale.edu/churchill-and-chemical-warfare/>

Middle East

• Barr, James, A Line in the Sand: Britain, France and the Struggle That Shaped the Middle East (Simon & Schuster UK, 2011)
• Cleveland, William L., A History of the Modern Middle East (Taylor & Francis, 2018)
• Meyer, Karl E., and Shareen Blair Brysac, Kingmakers: The Invention of the Modern Middle East (W. W. Norton, 2009)
• Nicosia, Francis R., Nazi Germany and the Arab World (Cambridge University Press, 2015)
• Reguer, Sara, Winston S. Churchill and the Shaping of the Middle East, 1919-1922 (Academic Studies Press, 2021)

6. References

¹ Martin Gilbert and Randolph Churchill, Winston S. Churchill. Companion Volume 4, Part 1. January 1917 – June 1919 (Heinemann, 1977), p. 649.

² Gilbert and Churchill, p. 662.

³ Winston S. Churchill, The Second World War: Volume 3: The Grand Alliance (Houghton Mifflin, 1950), p. 264.