Qassem (or Qasim), Brigadier Abdul Karim al- (1914–1963)

Iraqi soldier and politician, ruler 1958–63. In July 1958 Qassem led a successful coup and proceeded to establish himself as a dictator, appointing himself commander-in-chief, prime minister, and defence minister. In February 1963 he was overthrown by a combination of nationalist anti-communist military officers and civilian Ba'ath activists. This coup, which resulted in the death of Qassem and close associates, brought to power Abdul Salam Arif.

As ruler, he faced challenges from colleagues, including an attempted coup in March 1959 by Colonel Shawwaf. He drew on support from the communists to suppress this mutiny, but, within months, turned on the communists, who had launched mass demonstrations demanding free elections and legalization of the Communist Party. He introduced a significant measure of land reform in September 1958, but faced internal rebellion by Kurds, as well as both British and Arab opposition to his attempt, in 1961, to take over Kuwait, through military means.

Born in Baghdad, into a lower-middle-class Sunni Muslim family, Qassem was commissioned as an army officer in 1938. He served as a battalion commander during the 1948 Palestine War and from 1956 became head of the self-named ‘Free Officers’ group, which plotted to overthrow King Faisal II and end Iraq's ‘special relationship’ with Britain.

Nicknamed ‘the Mad Dictator’, Qassem was an erratic ruler, who, with a similar background and motivations to Nasser, lacked the Egyptian leader's charisma and strategic vision.