BIOGRAPHIC BACKGROUND ON BAGHDAD PROVINCIAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 06 BAGHDAD 001854

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR INR/B

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/01/2016
TAGS: PINR PGOV PREL IZ
SUBJECT: BIOGRAPHIC BACKGROUND ON BAGHDAD PROVINCIAL
COUNCIL LEADERSHIP

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Classified By: PRT Baghdad Acting Deputy Team Leader LTC Otto
Busher for Reasons 1.4(b) and (d).


1. The following is a biographic outline of the leadership
of the Baghdad Provincial Council (BPC),with background
information on each of the committee chairs as well as the
senior members. Included as available with each entry is
biographic information, perceived views of the United States
and coalition forces, telephone contact information and
general background comments as applicable.


2. (C) Name: Mueen Hameed Abdul Al-Madjid Al-Kadhimi
-- Chairman of the BPC
-- Shia, SCIRI - Badr Organization
-- Personal Information: Mueen is 44 years old, is married
and has three children: a son and a daughter in high school,
and a baby girl. He has had some training in mechanical
engineering at Baghdad University, but has never
professionally used his skills. In the 1980,s he lived in
Jordan and Syria and eventually moved to Iran where he began
an association with SCIRI and the community of Iraqi exiles,
working with ex-PM Ibrahim al-Jaafari. Many of his family
members were imprisoned by the Saddam regime, and he lost
numerous friends and relatives during the Iran-Iraq War. He
claims to have received military training from SCIRI during
his time in Iran. He returned to Iraq in 2003 and was working
with SCIRI political leadership in developing their list of
candidates for the 2005 election when they suggested adding
his name to the Baghdad list. Mueen owns property in both
the Karada and Kadhamiyah Districts of Baghdad and splits his
residence between them.
-- Contact Information: 07901328283
-- General: Mueen officially assumed duties as the new
Provincial Council Chairman after a special session of the
council on 19 December 2005 elevated him to that post. He
claims to have received military training from SCIRI during
his time in Iran. He returned to Iraq in 2003 and was working
with SCIRI political leadership in developing their list of
candidates for the 2005 election when they suggested adding
his name to the Baghdad list. He won a seat on the BPC in the
January 2005 national/provincial elections and became the
head of the SCIRI bloc. He was chosen to serve as the Deputy
Chairman of the PC, and held that position and the
chairmanship of the Administration Committee until being
selected as Provincial Council Chairman on 19 December 2005.
Mueen has expressed a willingness to engage Coalition and
Embassy officials and work with other CF elements on a
variety of issues, from reconstruction projects to improving
the integrity of provincial government institutions. He has
proven to be an effective administrator and a competent
public servant in his actions as Chairman. He sees himself as
a strong advocate for more private investment going into the
reconstruction effort. He is also actively seeking ways to
increase civilian political control over the police and
security forces.


3. (C) Name: Mohan Hashem Al-Saidi
-- Deputy Chairman of the BPC
-- Shia, National Cadre of Independents and Elites (NCIE)
(Sadrist)
-- Personal Information: Mohan resides in the Sadr City
district of Baghdad. He recently traveled to Saudi Arabia to
perform the Hajj. Mohan is married and has 3 children (2
Girls and 1 Boy (two months old). He had another son who was
killed some years ago. Prior to joining the Provincial
Council, Mohan worked for the Ministry of Health in an
unknown position. He still maintains strong ties to that
ministry.
-- Contact Information: 07901434932
-- General: Mohan,s brother, Nasser variant Nasr Al-Saidi,
was recently elected to the national Council of
Representatives. He comes from the 555 (UIA) list. Mohan
has taken a strong interest in the regular meetings between
PC members and the 15 District and Qada leadership
representatives. In late December 2005 during a special
session of the Provincial Council Mohan was elected to
replace SCIRI party member Mueen Hameed, who replaced the
charismatic Mazin Makiya as the council,s chairman. Mohan
was elected to the Provincial Council during the 30 January
2005 National/Provincial elections. Mohan now handles much

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of the administrative oversight at the council. Mohan was
previously the Chairman of the Baghdad Essential Services
Committee, a position which has been loosely reserved for the
nominal third ranking member of the Provincial Council. Mohan
has been generally supportive of the United States to date in
his public and private remarks.


4. (C) Name: Dr. Saber Nabat Al-Esawi variant Issawi
-- Mayor of Baghdad/BPC member
-- Shia, SCIRI (Independent)
-- Personal Information: Saber is 37 years old, is married,
has 8 children (4 boys and 4 girls) and lives in the Al-Shula
neighborhood of Kadhamiyah. Saber has his advanced degree in
Agriculture and prior to the fall of the Saddam regime, he
worked in the Ministry of Agriculture as a seed inspector. In
2003 and 2004 he worked in administration for seed and
agricultural companies. He supports scientific research and
exchange. Saber is a secular Shia.
-- Contact Information: 07901410969
-- General: He was elected to the Provincial Council during
the 30 January 2005 National/Provincial elections. He became
Mayor in early October 2005 after his selection by the PC was
approved by the Council of Ministers. He is willing to
engage the Coalition on a variety of substantial issues which
affect the essential services of Baghdad city. Prior to
assuming duties as the mayor, Saber was the Chairman of the
Essential Services Committee (ESC),a Provincial Council
committee appointed to oversee city essential services after
the dissolution of the City Council. Saber was proactive and
responsive during his time as chairman and could be counted
on when certain sectors of city essential services were mired
in red tape and signatures were required. Saber has been
straightforward, frank and honest in his assessments and
opinions. Saber seems genuinely interested in the
improvement of essential services in Baghdad. Although
obviously politically astute, he does not appear to seek to
use his powerful office for personal aggrandizement. In
conversations with various members of the PC as well as other
influential members of local government, Saber was considered
the third ranking person within the PC prior to his Mayoral
appointment. Throughout his tenure in public service he has
been generally supportive of the United States and the
coalition. In September 2005, Saber survived an
assassination attempt while traveling through the Kadhamiyah
district of Baghdad


5. (C) Name: Kamel Mohammed Al-Shabibi
-- Chairman of Economic and Finance Committee
-- Shia, SCIRI
-- Personal Information: Kamel Mohammed Al-Shabibi was born
in 1934. He describes himself as a secular Shia. He has two
brothers and one sister. Kamel is married. He has as PSC
degree in Economics from the University of Baghdad and a
Master,s degree in Banking from the Technical College of
London. He resided in London from 1957-61. He speaks
passable German and fluent English. Kamel originates from
Baghdad, and lives east of the Tigris River. Kamel worked
for the Iraqi Ministry of Oil from circa the late 1960,s
until 1981. In 1974, he traveled to the United States as an
Iraqi representative to OPEC for an OPEC general secretariat
meeting. During this time, he traveled to several U.S cities
including Miami, and Washington D.C. From 1976-79, Kamel was
assigned to the Iraqi Mission to OPEC in Vienna, Austria. In
1981, he left the Ministry of Oil and from that point until
circa 2002, he was a private sector oil consultant. He has
traveled extensively throughout Europe, the Middle East, and
South America on business and as a part of OPEC delegations.
Additionally, Kamel has a brother, a U.S citizen, who
currently resides in Chicago, Illinois.
-- Contact Information: 07901517428; 07802158177
-- General: He is an independent member of the SCIRI party
and was elected to his current position in January 2005.
Kamel liaises regularly with representatives from the
Ministry of Finance. He also maintains a number of contacts
at the Ministry of Oil. Kamel,s first cousin is the current
Governor of the Iraqi Central Bank. Kamel is forward leaning
on economic issues and the need for commercial enterprise in
Baghdad Province. He &gets it8 and understands the need
for the PC to be better organized and inclusive of district
councils and local government. Further, Kamel is articulate

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and intelligent in his opinions and positions. Without his
support, the PC would have difficulty executing the simplest
of development agendas. Kamel is now 72 and has commented
that he does not have the stamina for work he once did.
Kamel has been one of the BPC's strongest voices in support
of the US and the coalition.


6. (C) Name: Ali Mohammed Al-Attar
-- Chairman of the Reconstruction Committee. Member of the
Baghdad Essential Services Committee and PRDC.
-- Shia, SCIRI
-- Personal Information: Ali Mohammed Al-Attar was born in

1963. He has five brothers and two sisters. Ali was married
in 2000 and his wife is a pharmacist. He has as degree in
Control Systems Engineering from the University of Technology
in the Karada District of Baghdad. Ali has two children,
both girls aged one and three respectively. He has lived
most of his life in the Kadhamiyah District of Baghdad. He
speaks basic French and Russian and is mostly fluent in
English. He characterizes himself as coming from a typical
family background. Both of Ali,s parents are from Karbala,
Iraq and his father, now deceased, was a tribal sheikh in
Karbala. In the 1980,s, Ali worked for an Iraqi
pharmaceutical company as an engineer. In the early 1990,s
he returned to school where he completed his degree
requirements. In the early 1980,s he was denied the
opportunity to graduate because he refused to be conscripted
in the Iraqi Army to fight in the Iran-Iraq War. In 1994,
Ali went to work for a state-owned factory managed by the
Ministry of Trade. He rose to the position of factory
manager. In 1999, he was advised by the government that
needed to become a Ba,ath Party member or he would lose his
job with the factory. Ali refused to join the party and was
summarily fired from his job. In late 1999, Ali helped
establish the Safa Pharmaceutical Company. He worked for the
company until 2004 and achieved the position of
Director-Manager.
-- Contact Information: 07902573521
-- General: He characterizes himself as an independent
member of the SCIRI party. He was elected to his current
position in January 2005. From 2003-2005 Ali was a member of
the Horriyah Neighborhood Council and the Kadhamiyah District
Council. He claims to have a loyal following from the
Horriyah area of Baghdad. Ali believes that any person who
was a member of the Ba,ath Party during the previous regime
should be kept from ever being to serve in all but the most
menial positions of government. He makes an exception for
Iyad Allawi, but claims that Allawi is tainted because many
people in his political party were key Ba,ath Party members.
Ali,s only international travel was to Syria where he
visited a holy shrine. He also lived in Kurdistan for one
year in 1987 while he was hiding from the Iraqi government
because of his refusal to join the army. When Ali worked in
a state owned factory he worked often with Russian (Soviet)
Military advisors and who he characterizes as civilian
&KGB8. He notes that Russians were advising Iraqi
factories on the production of defense related products. Ali
would like to continue working in politics, either at the
Provincial level or with the national government. Ali is
widely disliked by rank and file members of the PC and often
openly insulted by them in meetings. That said, Ali does
maintain a certain degree of influence and power which
originates from an unknown source.


7. (C) Name: Ali Abdul Al-Amer Al-Shamma
-- Deputy Chairman of the Baghdad Essential Services
Committee. Member of the Reconstruction Committee and PRDC.
-- Shia, SCIRI
-- Personal Information: Unknown.
-- Contact Information: 07902459474
-- General: Ali is a technocrat and until recently was
willing to engage regularly with USG. Several months ago, he
was removed from his temporary position as the Chairman of
the Essential Services Committee. He is not a risk taker and
defers to many of his colleagues rather than take ownership
of an issue. That said, he can be a source of good
information about the Provincial Council.


8. (C) Name: Mohammed Jassim Hamood
-- BPC member. Member of the Security Committee.

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-- Shia, SCIRI - Badr Organization
-- Personal Information: Mohammed Jassim Hamood lost two
brothers during the Saddam regime. He is married with 4 boys
and 1 girl. Prior to the liberation of Iraq, he lived in
Iran, residing there for 11 years. Mohammed claims that he
does not speak FARSI. Mohammed has a High School degree and
technical school diploma. He is working towards his
university degree now. He resides in the Rashidiya area of
Husseiniyah. Mohammed is close friends of Governor Hussein
Al-Tahan. Has a cousin who resides in Detroit. Mohammed
calls President George Bush a &Shiite8 and believes his
support was crucial in 2003.
-- Contact Information: 07902284802
-- General: Director of the Badr Organization on the
&Rusafa8 side of the Tigris River. He has been a member of
the Badr Corps for the past 20 years. He is currently a
Provincial Council representative to the BJCC.


9. (C) Name: Mazin Abdul Al-Wahid Makiya
-- Former Chairman of the BPC
-- Shia, Da,wa Party
-- Personal Information: Mazin, who describes himself as a
secular Shia, currently resides in the Karadah district of
Baghdad. Mazin originates from the Tarmiyah area of Baghdad
province. During Saddam's regime, Mazin lived in exile in
Iran. Mazin is married with children.
-- Contact Information: 07901300102; 07901913091
-- General: In late October 2005, Mazin temporarily changed
political allegiances and became a member of the National
Democratic Alliance Party (NDAP) where he was currently #2 on
the NDAP list for the December elections. The party did not
fare well in the elections and Mazin suffered politically as
a result. In December 2005, he was removed from his position
as Chairman of the PC. Since then, he has been the leader of
the opposition on the council. Mazin is openly pro-American
and is willing to engage MND-B on a number of substantial
political and governance related issues. Mazin has a
charismatic and seemingly sincere personality and has
demonstrated, at times, a commanding presence in meetings.
Conversations with Mazin are generally straight forward yet
diplomatic. Mazin understands the political need to
carefully control the information he imparts to others. In
Spring 2006, Mazin established Ansar Al-Dawa, a break off
movement from the Da,wa party. It remains to be seen
whether this group will succeed or wither away.


10. (C) Name: Kamel Naser Al-Zaidi
-- Chairman of the Baghdad Essential Services Committee
-- Shia, Da,wa Al-Tanzim Party
-- Personal Information: Dr. Kamel Nasr Al-Zaidy is about 50
year old and claims to be from southern Iraq. Kamel is
married. He has seven children, four boys and three girls.
His oldest child is 18 years old. Kamel does not speak
English. Kamel lives in Sector 30 of Sadr City and is an
active member of the Sadr Bureau. According to several
members of the PC, Kamel is a &fairly famous8 figure in
Saddam-era Shia dissident circles.
-- Contact Information: 07901653695
-- General: Member of the Sadr Bureau. The Essential
Services Committee (ESC),his committee, is one of the most
important committees of the PC and its past chairmen have all
been regarded as the nominal #3 ranking persons on the PC
while serving in that capacity. He was elected to his
current position in January 2005. Kamel has served on the
committee for his entire tenure on the PC and has in-depth
experience with essential services issues. In December 2005,
Kamel defended former Provincial Council Chairman Mazin
during a special session to oust Mazin and replace him with
another PC member. Kamel recently traveled to Mecca to
perform the Hajj. He is generally straightforward and frank
in conversation. He has expressed a desire to work closely
with elements of the U.S Embassy and CF. Kamel is actively
working to remove corrupt elements from their position in the
Amanat; something which he volunteers is difficult and not
easily gauged.


11. (C) Name: Riyaad Abdul Allah
-- Chairman of the Security Committee
-- Shia, Da,wa Party (Al-Islah)
-- Personal Information: Chairman of the Al-Islah political

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party. For a number of years, he was the head of the
military wing of the Islamic Work Organization. Riyaad is a
naturally secretive and personal security-minded person.
Little is known about his background and family.
-- Contact Information: 07802158194
-- General: Riad, the committee chairman, has worked in
security related positions for the past 25 years. Riad
receives a great deal of security information. Riad limits
his relationship with Governor Al-Tahan because of Al-Tahan's
role a senior Badr commander. Riad has a number of sources
throughout the city who provide him with information on
current happenings. He has become very active dealing with
USG on security matters. He takes his position very
seriously and would like to see increased Provincial Council
involvement/control over provincial security planning and
coordination.


12. (C) Name: Nazar Thamer Hatem Al-Tammimi
-- Chairman of the Oil Committee
-- Shia, SCIRI
-- Personal Information: Unknown
-- Contact Information: N/A
-- General: Nazar is active in the oil distribution sector
in Baghdad and is reportedly quite responsive to the DAC and
NAC concerns vis--vis fuels. He meets regularly with
representatives from the Ministry of Oil, ranging from
Baghdad Director Generals to senior ministry officials, and
has also been willing to meet regularly with PRT and other
USG staff.


13. (C) Name: Dr. Khaoula Al-Hassany
-- Chairwoman of the Legal Committee
-- Shia, SCIRI
-- Personal Information: Holds a degree in English literature
and speaks passable albeit limited English.
-- Contact Information: 07901755621
-- General: Khaoula is outspoken for a woman on the
Provincial Council. Although the head of the Legal
Committee, she is not a lawyer. Recently, she has become
more reluctant to take a leadership role with her committee,
and may be the subject of intimidation by other BPC members.


14. (C) Name: Dr. Abdul Al-Razzak Kadhum Al-Zubaidy
-- Chairman of the Education Committee
-- Shia, SCIRI
-- Personal Information: Unknown
-- Contact Information: 914-822-6731
-- General: N/A


15. (C) Name: Samer Abdul Razzak Kadhum
-- Chairman of the Sports and Youth Committee
-- Shia, SCIRI
-- Personal Information: Unknown
-- Contact Information: Unknown
-- General: N/A


16. (C) Name: Dr. Zeanab Khalel Hussein
-- Chairwoman of the Women/Children Committee
-- Shia, SCIRI
-- Personal Information: Unknown
-- Contact Information: Unknown
-- General: N/A


17. (C) Name: Atiyah Al-Ugaily
-- Chairman of the Integrity Committee
-- Shia, SCIRI
-- Personal Information: Unknown
-- Contact Information: 914-822-6733
-- General: N/A


18. (C) Name: Nail Mohammed Hussein Al-Musawi
-- Chairman Human Rights/NGO Committee
-- Shia, SCIRI
-- Personal Information: Unknown
-- Contact Information: 914-822-6734
-- General: Nail is a Shia cleric.


19. (C) Name: Abdul Al-Kader Abdullah
-- Chairman Media Committee
-- Shia, SCIRI

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-- Personal Information: Unknown
-- Contact Information: Unknown
-- General: N/A


20. (C) Name: Laith Hassan Sidiq Al-Hadery
-- Chairman of the Religious Affairs Committee
-- Shia, SCIRI
-- Personal Information: Unknown
-- Contact Information: Unknown
-- General: N/A


21. (C) Name: Essa Hamood Al-Saady
-- Chairman of the Social Security Committee
-- Shia, SCIRI
-- Personal Information: Unknown
-- Contact Information: Unknown
-- General: He heads a temporary committee and he liaises
regularly with the Ministry of Social Affairs.


22. (C) Name: Abdullah Allah Harraz Al-Beadany
-- Chairman of the Regional Essential Services Committee
-- Shia, SCIRI
-- Personal Information: N/A
-- Contact Information: 07901988372
-- General: He chairs a fledgling committee which will work
closely with Governor's office coordinating essential
services delivery outside of the city of Baghdad. He has
been outspoken in his criticisms of the US and the coalition.


23. (C) Name: Dr. Salah Salem Abdul Razzak
-- Chairman Public Relations Committee
-- Shia, Da,wa Party
-- Personal Information: Unknown
-- Contact Information: 914-822-6736
-- General: Although he has not yet formally resigned his
position, Salah has left the BPC to serve as spokesman for
Iraqi PM Al-Maliki.


24. (C) Name: Dr. Jumaa Abdul Hassan Al-Meyahi
-- Chairman of the Health and Environment Committee
-- Shia, Al-Bayan (Ind)
-- Personal Information: Speaks fluent English and is well
educated.
-- Contact Information: 914-822-6738
-- General: Jumaa recently railed against the USG during a
special Provincial Council meeting to boycott contact with
the PRT.


25. (C) Name: Tarek Jahan Bakash
-- Chairman of the Civil Society Committee
-- Kurdish, Da,wa Party
-- Personal Information: N/A
-- U.S View: Neutral
-- Contact Information: 07802158157; 914-822-6737
-- General: N/A
KHALILZAD