Najah Hassan Ali al-Shammari (born 20 January 1967) is an Iraqi politician and military officer who served as the Minister of Defense from June 2019 to May 2020.[1][2][3] He holds Swedish citizenship.[4]
Najah al-Shammari | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Minister of Defence | |
| In office 24 June 2019 – 6 May 2020 | |
| Prime Minister | Adil Abdul-Mahdi |
| Preceded by | Erfan al-Hiyali |
| Succeeded by | Juma Inad |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Najah Hassan Ali al-Shammari 20 January 1967 Baghdad, Iraqi Republic |
| Citizenship | Iraq Sweden (since 2015) |
| Political party | al-Wataniya (coalition) |
| Education | Iraqi Military Academy |
| Profession | Military officer |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Iraq |
| Branch/service | Iraqi Army |
| Rank | Major general |
| Unit | Iraqi Special Operations Forces |
Background
editAl-Shammari was born in Baghdad.[2] He is a member of the Shammar tribe (one of the largest and most influential Arab tribes).[5] Al-Shammari graduated from the Iraqi Military Academy in 1987 with a bachelor's degree in military science.[2] He also has a master's degree in strategic planning for national security.[2] Al-Shammari later served as a commander in the Iraqi Special Operations Forces and has held many military positions from 2003 until 2007.[2] He retired in 2018 with the rank of major general.[2]
Defence minister
edit
On June 24, 2019, al-Shammari was approved by the Iraqi parliament as defence minister of Iraq in Adil Abdul-Mahdi's cabinet.[1][2] He was nominated to the post by the al-Wataniya coalition, led by former prime minister and then vice president of Iraq Ayad Allawi.[2][6]
Reports of dual Iraqi-Swedish citizenship and criminal charges in Sweden
editIn April 2019, prior to the nomination of al-Shammari as a candidate for the post of defence minister, there were reports in Iraqi media that al-Shammari has dual Iraqi-Swedish citizenship.[6] The claims were rejected as false by a representative of the al-Wataniya coalition.[6]
In November 2019, the Swedish news website Nyheter Idag reported that al-Shammari is a Swedish citizen registered as a resident in a Stockholm suburb under an alternative surname (this surname was reported to be the name of al-Shammari's clan within the Shammar tribe).[4] According to the report, which was confirmed by Swedish authorities, al-Shammari applied for a residence permit in Sweden in 2009 and became a Swedish citizen in 2015.[4][7] It was also reported that al-Shammari was granted several state welfare benefits in Sweden, including full time sick leave, while he did not declare any (or for some years only very low) income from work.[4][7] He has also been the subject of several criminal investigations in Sweden, although he was never convicted of a crime.[4][7]
The Swedish police launched a preliminary investigation into benefit fraud and civil registration violations against al-Shammari after allegedly claiming child and housing support for years despite living in Baghdad.The Swedish Prosecution Authority also announced that it had started an investigation for crimes against humanity against "an Iraqi minister", whom Swedish media identified as al-Shammari. Criminal charges were subsequently dropped and al-Shammari returned to Sweden.
On 18 March 2024, al-Shammari was arrested by Swedish police upon his arrival at Arlanda Airport on charges relating to the fraudulent welfare benefits.[8]
References
edit- ^ a b "Iraqi official: Parliament approves 3 key Cabinet ministers". Federalist News Network. Associated Press. 2019-06-24. Archived from the original on 2019-10-25. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Who are Abd al-Mahdi's new ministers of defense, interior, justice?". The Baghdad Post. 2019-06-24. Archived from the original on 2020-08-08. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
- ^ "Meet Iraq's new Cabinet - Al-Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East". 7 May 2020.
- ^ a b c d e Bergman, Jakob; Nilsson, Johannes (2019-11-19). "Iraks försvarsminister är svensk medborgare och folkbokförd i Stockholmsförort" [Iraq's defense minister is a Swedish citizen and is registered in Stockholm suburb]. Nyheter Idag (in Swedish). Retrieved 2019-11-19.
- ^ Brinkemo, Per [@PerBrinkemo] (2019-11-23). "Den nu omskrivna försvarsministern i Irak, Najah al-Shammari, kommer från en av de mest inflytelserika klanerna i regionen - Shammarklanen" [The now well-publicised defense minister in Iraq, Najah al-Shammari, comes from one of the most influential clans in the region - the Shammar clan.] (Tweet) (in Swedish). Retrieved 2019-11-26 – via Twitter.
- ^ a b c "Candidate to defense min. post not Swedish: Wataniya bloc". The Baghdad Post. 2019-04-08. Archived from the original on 2019-11-24. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
- ^ a b c Wikén, Johan; Björk, Helena (2019-11-22). "Iraks försvarsminister är svensk medborgare – folkbokförd i Stockholm" [Iraq's defense minister is a Swedish citizen - registered in Stockholm]. SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 2019-11-22.
- ^ "Iraq's former defense minister wanted in Sweden for fraud is arrested at the Stockholm airport". Associated Press. 19 March 2024. Retrieved 19 March 2024.