Nouri al-Maliki

Nouri Kamil Mohammed Hasan al-Maliki, also known as Jawad al-Maliki or Abu Esraa, al-Maliki is secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party and was a Vice President of Iraq from 2016 to 2018. Al-Maliki began his political career as a Shia dissident under Saddam Hussein's regime in the late 1970s and rose to prominence after he fled a death sentence into exile for 24 years. During his time abroad, he became a senior leader of the Islamic Dawa Party, coordinated the activities of anti-Saddam guerrillas and built relationships with Iranian and Syrian officials whose help he sought in overthrowing Saddam. Al-Maliki worked closely with United States and coalition forces in Iraq following their departure by the end of 2011.