Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council

Established after the military coup in 1968, the Revolutionary Command Council was the ultimate decision making body in Iraq before the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. It exercised both executive and legislative authority in the country, with the Chairman and Vice Chairman chosen by a two-thirds majority of the council. The Chairman also is then declared the President of Iraq and he is then allowed to select a Vice President. After Saddam became President of Iraq in 1979 the council was lead by deputy chairman Izzat Ibrahim ad-Douri, deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz and Taha Yassin Ramadan who had known Saddam since the 1960s.^[1] The legislature is comprised of the RCC, the National Assembly and a 50-member Kurdish Legislative Council which governs the country. During his presidency of the country Saddam Hussein was Chairman of the RCC and President of the Republic. Other members of the RCC included Salah Omar Al-Ali who held the position between 1968 and 1970 and one of Saddam's half-brothers, Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti.

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