Tariq Aziz (Arabic: طارق عزيزṬāriq ʿAzīz, 28 April 1936 – 5 June 2015) was an Iraqi politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and a close advisor of President Saddam Hussein. Their association began in the 1950s when both were activists for the then-banned Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. He was both an Arab nationalist and a member of the Chaldean Catholic Church.[1][2][3]
Due to security concerns, Saddam Hussein rarely left Iraq, so Aziz would often be Iraq's highest level representative at international diplomatic summits. In the year prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Aziz said that the United States did not want "regime change" in Iraq but rather "region change". He said that the Bush Administration's reasons for war were "oil and Israel."[4] After surrendering to American forces on 24 April 2003, Aziz was held in prison, first by American forces and subsequently by the new Iraqi government, in Camp Cropper in western Baghdad.[5]
He was acquitted at trial of some charges on 1 March 2009, but was later found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to 15 years in prison on 11 March 2009 for the executions of 42 merchants found guilty of profiteering in 1992 and another 7 years for relocating Kurds.[6] On 26 October 2010, he was sentenced to death by the Iraqi High Tribunal, which sparked regional and international condemnation from Iraqi bishops and other Iraqis, the Vatican, the United Nations, the European Union and the human rights organization Amnesty International, as well as various governments around the world, such as Russia.[7] On 28 October 2010, it was reported that Aziz, as well as 25 fellow prison inmates, had begun a hunger strike to protest the fact that they could not receive their once-monthly visit from friends and relatives, which was normally set for the last Friday of each month.[8] Iraqi President Jalal Talabani declared that he would not sign Aziz's execution order, thus commuting his sentence to indefinite imprisonment.[9]
Aziz remained in custody for the rest of his life and died of a heart attack in the city of Nasiriyah on 5 June 2015, aged 79.[10]
^"Free Tariq Aziz". chaldeannews.com. Archived from the original on 11 February 2015.
^"Minority Rights Group International : Iraq : Chaldeans". minorityrights.org. Archived from the original on 4 July 2014.
^"Tariq Aziz Faces Trial in Iraq". chaldeannews.com. Archived from the original on 11 February 2015.
^Burns, John F. (22 October 2002). "Threats and Responses: Baghdad's View; Citing North Korea, an Iraqi Aide Says 'Oil and Israel', Not Weapons, Spur the U.S." The New York Times. Retrieved 10 February 2007.[permanent dead link]
^Oppel, Richard A. Jr.; Mizher, Qais (22 July 2007). "U.S. Attack Near Baghdad Reported to Kill at Least 15". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
^"Tariq Aziz guilty of Iraq murders". BBC. 11 March 2009. Retrieved 11 March 2009.
^"Russia appeals to Iraq to not execute Aziz". Reuters. 27 October 2010. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
^"Iraq's Tareq Aziz on hunger strike: son". AFP. 29 October 2010. Archived from the original on 31 July 2012.
^Iraq president refuses to sign execution order for Tariq Aziz Daily Telegraph, 17 November 2010
^"Saddam Hussein aide Tariq Aziz dies at age 79". Associated Press. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
TariqAziz (Arabic: طارق عزيز ṬāriqʿAzīz, 28 April 1936 – 5 June 2015) was an Iraqi politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign...
British-American film editor Tariq Anwar (politician), Indian politician TariqAziz, former Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq under Saddam Hussein Tariq Carpenter (born...
Bazm-e-TariqAziz (formerly Neelam Ghar and TariqAziz Show) was a quiz-format game show hosted by TariqAziz on PTV which started in 1975 and lasted for...
Minister under Saddam Hussein TariqAziz (field hockey, born 1938) (born 1938), Pakistani field hockey player TariqAziz (TV personality) (1936–2020),...
TariqAziz (1 July 1945 – 24 May 2014 ) was an Iraqi football striker who played for Iraq between 1967 and 1971. He also played for Al-Shorta. On 24 May...
minister under Saddam, TariqAziz. In April 2005, on Al Jazeera during that year's general election campaign, he described Aziz as "an eminent diplomatic...
lived in Iraq, highlighting the country's diverse religious landscape. TariqAziz, who was a Chaldean, held various political positions in the Ba'athist...
he was hanged on 25 January. On 26 October 2010, Saddam's top minister TariqAziz was sentenced to hang for persecuting the members of rival Shi'a political...
2015). "Iraq War 10 Years Later: Where Are They Now? TariqAziz". NBC News. "Iraq's TariqAziz 'dies in prison'". BBC News. 5 June 2015. "On Vulnerable...
meeting with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and his Deputy Prime Minister, TariqAziz, on July 25, 1990. In her telegram from July 25, 1990, to the Department...
president to Iraq and refused to receive the former foreign minister, TariqAziz. On the afternoon of 22 July 2003, troops of the 101st Airborne 3/327th...
Aziz Mian Qawwal (Urdu: عزیز میاں قوال) (17 April 1942 – 6 December 2000) was a Pakistani traditional qawwal famous for singing ghazals in his own style...
Sultan Rahi Syed Ishrat Abbas Syed Kamal Syed Musa Raza TariqAziz Tauqeer Nasir Tariq Mustafa Tariq Teddy Umer Sharif Usman Peerzada Vasay Chaudhry Wahaj...
the Iraq Interim Government and stood trial with six others including TariqAziz, Ali Hassan al-Majid, Watban Ibrahim al-Hassan and Sabbawi Ibrahim al-Hassan...
Television Center Zafar Samdani – first news editor at PTV Lahore Center TariqAziz- first on-air news broadcaster PTV Lahore Television Center (26 Nov 1964)...
was Deputy Prime Minister (1979–2003) and Foreign Minister (1983–1991) TariqAziz. By 2012, hundreds of thousands of Christians of all denominations left...
Secretary of State James Baker met with TariqAziz in Geneva, Switzerland, for last minute peace talks in early 1991, Aziz reportedly made no concrete proposals...
against Western and Sunni targets elsewhere. It attempted to assassinate TariqAziz, Hussein's longtime loyalist, in 1980; and Saddam Hussein himself in 1982...
Rehman Malik, Shahbaz Sharif, Anwar Maqsood, Pakistani TV personality TariqAziz and pop music artist Ali Azmat among many others. Aftab Iqbal used to...
instances where this provision has been violated, as was the case with TariqAziz, who was sentenced to death at the age of 74.[citation needed] There is...