Ba'athist Iraq, officially the Iraqi Republic (1968–1992) and later the Republic of Iraq (1992–2003), was the Iraqi state between 1968 and 2003 under the rule of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. This period began with high economic growth, but ended with the country facing severe levels of socio-political isolation and economic stagnation. By the late 1990s, the average annual income had decreased drastically due to a combination of external and internal factors. UNSC sanctions against Iraq, in particular, were widely criticized for negatively impacting the country's quality of life, prompting the establishment of the Oil-for-Food Programme. The Ba'athist period formally came to an end with the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and the Ba'ath Party has since been indefinitely banned across the country.
Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr was de jure leader of Iraq from 1968 to 1979.
Adnan Khairallah, Iraqi Defense Minister, meeting with Iraqi soldiers during the Iran-Iraq war.
Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr (left), the Regional Secretary of the Iraqi Ba'ath, shaking hands with Michel Aflaq, principal founder of Ba'athist thought, in 1968.
Saddam Hussein (right) talking with founder of Ba'athism and Ba'ath Party leader Michel Aflaq in 1988.
Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region
The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region, officially the Iraqi Regional Branch, is an Iraqi Ba'athist political party founded in 1951 by Fuad al-Rikabi. It was the Iraqi regional branch of the original Ba'ath Party, before changing its allegiance to the Iraqi-dominated Ba'ath movement following the 1966 split within the original party. The party was officially banned following the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, but despite this it still continues to function underground.
Rikabi was one of the leading figures in early Ba'athist history
Saddam Hussein and the Ba'ath Party student cell, Cairo, in the period 1959–1963
Qasim was executed by the Ba'athists inside the Iraqi Ministry of Defence building; the Ba'athists desecrated his corpse on Iraqi television.
Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr, as seen in 1974, led the Ba'athist coups of 1963 and 1968.