Hassan Al-Abadi

Place: Baghdad

Born: 1952

Biography:

Hassan AL-ABADI is an Iraqi artist born in Baghdad in 1952. He is known for his sculpture work, including the piece 'Sinbad's Lantern' created in 2015. AL-ABADI served as Prime Minister of Iraq from 2014 to 2018, following a political career that began as a Shia dissident opposed to former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in the late 1970s. He spent 24 years in exile, during which he became a senior leader of the Islamic Dawa Party, coordinated the activities of anti-Saddam guerrillas, and built relationships with officials from Iran and Syria. AL-ABADI worked closely with the Multi-National Force (MNF–I) during and after the American-led occupation of Iraq, and continued to cooperate with the United States following the withdrawal from Iraq. His two terms as Prime Minister were marked by allegations of corruption and criticism for empowering Shia militias, favoring Shia political/military figures over Kurds and Sunni Arabs, and fueling Iraqi sectarian violence. AL-ABADI was elected as one of three of Iraq's vice presidents in September 2014, an office he held despite attempts to abolish the post.