Mustafa Al-Kadhimi

Al-Kadhimi, who studied Law at Al-Turath University, was responsible for reforming the service to be more effective and to meet international standards. He oversaw ending the politicization of intelligence action, implementing advanced methods to intelligence gathering and analysis, and setting priorities to broaden the scope of the work of the National Intelligence Service.[5][6][7] Under his leadership, the agency expanded its remit, particularly in counter-terrorism, both internally and abroad, playing a vital role in Iraq's fight against the ISIS, also known as Daesh.[8][9][10]

Al-Kadhimi was a vocal opponent to the dictatorship of the Saddam Hussein regime.[3] He left Iraq in 1985 to Iran then Germany and settled in United Kingdom and lived in exile for several years, yet is not affiliated with any of the Iraqi political parties.

In his role as Director of the Iraq Memory Foundation in London between 2003 and 2010, an organization that was established to document the crimes of Saddam Hussain's regime, Al-Kadhimi managed a team spread across various countries, including Iraq. He oversaw the documenting of testimonies and collating footage from victims of the regime of Saddam Hussein.

He was a columnist and an editor of the Iraqi version of Al-Monitor,[11][12] and contributed to various outlets. He has also published a number of books and studies,[3]

Following months of protests that broke out across Iraq in October 2019 and the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and his cabinet, Mustafa Al Kadhimi became a leading contender for the premiership.[13]

On 9 April 2020, he was named by President Barham Salih as prime minister-designate, the third person tapped to lead the country in just 10 weeks as it struggled to replace a government that fell last year after months of protests. Kadhimi was nominated by President Barham Salih, state television reported, shortly after the previous designated prime minister, Adnan al-Zurfi, announced he was withdrawing having failed to secure enough support to pass a government.[14]