Najah al-Shammari | |
---|---|
Minister of Defence | |
In office 24 June 2019 –6 May 2020 | |
Prime Minister | Adil Abdul-Mahdi |
Preceded by | Erfan al-Hiyali |
Succeeded by | Juma Inad |
Personal details | |
Born | Najah Hassan Ali al-Shammari 20 January 1967 Baghdad,Iraqi Republic |
Citizenship | Iraq Sweden (since 2015) |
Political party | al-Wataniya (coalition) |
Education | Iraqi Military Academy |
Profession | Military officer |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Iraq |
Branch/service | Iraqi Army |
Rank | Major general |
Unit | Iraqi Special Operations Forces |
Najah Hassan Ali al-Shammari (born 20 January 1967) is an Iraqi politician and military officer who served as the Minister of Defense from June 2019 to May 2020. [1] [2] [3] He holds Swedish citizenship. [4]
Al-Shammari was born in Baghdad. [2] He is a Sunni Arab [2] and a member of the Shammar tribe (one of the largest and most influential Arab tribes). [5] Al-Shammari graduated from the Iraqi Military Academy in 1987 with a bachelor's degree in military science. [2] He also has a master's degree in strategic planning for national security. [2] Al-Shammari later served as a commander in the Iraqi Special Operations Forces and has held many military positions from 2003 until 2007. [2] He retired in 2018 with the rank of major general. [2]
On June 24,2019,al-Shammari was approved by the Iraqi parliament as defence minister of Iraq in Adil Abdul-Mahdi's cabinet. [1] [2] He was nominated to the post by the al-Wataniya coalition,led by former prime minister and then vice president of Iraq Ayad Allawi. [2] [6]
In April 2019,prior to the nomination of al-Shammari as a candidate for the post of defence minister,there were reports in Iraqi media that al-Shammari has dual Iraqi-Swedish citizenship. [6] The claims were rejected as false by a representative of the al-Wataniya coalition. [6]
In November 2019,the Swedish news website Nyheter Idag reported that al-Shammari is a Swedish citizen registered as a resident in a Stockholm suburb under an alternative surname (this surname was reported to be the name of al-Shammari's clan within the Shammar tribe). [4] According to the report,which was confirmed by Swedish authorities,al-Shammari applied for a residence permit in Sweden in 2009 and became a Swedish citizen in 2015. [4] [7] It was also reported that al-Shammari was granted several state welfare benefits in Sweden,including full time sick leave,while he did not declare any (or for some years only very low) income from work. [4] [7] He has also been the subject of several criminal investigations in Sweden,although he was never convicted of a crime. [4] [7]
Al-Shammari was also accused of sexually harassing a Swedish 20-year-old male while being Defense Minister in leaked text messages, [8] although no other news sources have corroborated the allegation.
The Swedish police launched a preliminary investigation into benefit fraud and civil registration violations against al-Shammari after allegedly claiming child and housing support for years despite living in Baghdad. [9] [10] The Swedish Prosecution Authority also announced that it had started an investigation for crimes against humanity against "an Iraqi minister",whom Swedish media identified as al-Shammari. [9] [11] Criminal charges were subsequently dropped and al-Shammari returned to Sweden. [12]
On 18 March 2024,al-Shammari was arrested by Swedish police upon his arrival at Arlanda Airport on charges relating to the fraudulent welfare benefits. [13]
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