Hanna Khayat

Hanna Khayat was born in 1884 in Mosul to a Syriac Catholic family, He completed his school in Mosul, then he decided to go outside home to complete his studies, He received a Bachelor of Literatures and Sciences from the French University of Beirut in 1903, then He received his Diploma in Medicine from the Universities of Paris and Istanbul in 1908 and was elected a member of the Medical and Surgical Society in Brussels. After returning to Mosul he elected in First World War as Vice President of the Red Crescent Society in the city. He was fluent in Arabic, Turkish, French and English.

After the end of the Ottoman rule, Hanna Khayat moved to Syria, where he preferred to work under the French mandate because of his influence on French culture during his studies, He was known there on King Faisal in 1920, and move with him to Iraq. After the establishment of national rule, he served as Minister of Health from 1921 to 1922 at Abd Al-Rahman Al-Gillani government, Then the Ministry of Health was abolished and merged into the Ministry of Interior, To assume the presidency of the Public Health Administration from 1922 to 1931. As well as his practice since 1926 lecturing Arabic medicine in the College of Law and Medicine in Baghdad and in 1931 was appointed Director General of Foreign Affairs and Inspector General of Health in 1933. He has also published several articles in Iraqi newspapers that spoke about health guidance and contributed to improving hospitals in Iraq, Hanna Khayat spoke of neglect in Mosul facilities during the Ottoman period and attributed the reasons for health neglect to the neglect of government at a time when the authority attributed the shortcomings in this regard to the people, denying their willingness to promote health.

After being appointed to retirement, he was elected deputy for Senate for Mosul in its tenth session (October 1943 - November 1946). Hanna Khayat presented his medical project to King Faisal II when he met for the first time. The project is based on the following principles: Linking different good and health and medical departments with special medical legislation unified. He also spoke about the reasons for the increasing incidence of children at the time and spoke about the prevention of tuberculosis and the management of insect risks. He was also elected deputy for Mosul for the second time from June 1950 to October 1953.[3]

In his last days he written diary book entitled Days Speak, died on April 30, 1959 in Baghdad.[4]

• Ottoman medal Third degree
• White Turkish Spear Medal
• The Order of the Mesopotamia of the fourth and second class
• Medal of Excellence from Germany
• Benemerenti medal
• Honorary Lebanese Medal of Merit from the president Émile Eddé

• Yousef Ghanima