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Abdul Rahman Arif
Abdul Rahman Arif was president of Iraq from April 16, 1966 to July 16, 1968. He was a career soldier, and supported the military coup that brought his brother, Abdul Salam Arif to power in 1963. His brother appointed him head of the army following the coup, and when the younger Arif died in a helicopter crash, Abdul Rahman al-Bazzaz became acting president; but three days later the military decided that Abdul Salam should be succeeded by his older brother instead. Following the death of his brother, Arif was appointed president by the Revolutionary Command Council. He continued his brother's politics, but with a more nationalistic profile. His presidency was a turbulent one, and on July 16, 1968, while the president was sleeping, his own assistants along with members of the Ba'ath Party and Ahmad Hassan al-Bakr overthrew him in a coup. It was accomplished when the defense minister, Hardan Al-Tikriti phoned the president informing him that he was no longer president. Arif was then kidnapped and exiled to Turkey. He returned to Iraq in 1979, when Saddam Hussein came to power, and has since largely stayed out of the public and political spotlight. He was allowed to leave the country once to undertake the Hajj. Along with Saddam, he is one of only two living former Presidents.
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