The Man Who Wants to Make Iraq Great Again

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has led Iraq through a time of regional turbulence. Ahead of national elections this month, he told Newsweek of his plans to establish his country as a global trade, investment and innovation hub

- TOM O'CONNOR

TWENTY YEARS AFTER IRAQ HELD ITS FIRST election in the wake of the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein and shook the Middle East, a nation home to the cradle of civilization and yet beset by decades of conflict prepares to hold another fateful vote.

The contest will mark a milestone in Iraq's many millennia of history. This is not simply because of the more than 7,700 parliamentary candidates whose hopeful portraits line nearly every road in Baghdad, but, even more vitally, due to the unprecedented stakes associated with a highly competitive election that has the potential to determine the course of Iraq during an elusive era of stability.

At the helm—and poised to stay there only if his bloc emerges with enough seats to bargain for a second term among an array of rivals—is Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.

Propelled to the position upon political disputes that unraveled his predecessor's short-lived premiership in 2022, the man once viewed as a temporary fix has since managed to navigate his nation through an era of major regional turbulence. He now outlines an ambitious road map to establish Iraq as a global hub for trade, investment and innovation that channels the untapped potential of a country rich with human capital, natural resources and cultural heritage.

“Iraq is a great country dating back a long time, a nation of civilizations from 7,000 years ago,” Sudani tells Newsweek.

Seated in his office at the Republican Palace within Baghdad's still heavily guarded Green Zone, the Iraqi premier points out a representation of the ancient Code of Hammurabi across the room, calling it “the first law of humanity” and “an achievement” for all mankind.

“And this exists in the Iraqi genes, generation after generation,” he says. “And it is the reason for the steadfastness of this people and in the face of various challenges, and by virtue of the heritage it carries.”