1958

‘Abd al-Ilah (b. November 14, 1913 at Ta'if, Arabia - d. July 14, 1958 at Baghdad), also known as 'Abdul Ilah or 'Abdullah, was the regent of Iraq from 1939 to 1953, and crown prince to 1958. A cousin and brother-in-law of King Ghazi, 'Abd al-Ilah was regent of Iraq for King Faisal II from April 4, 1939 to May 2, 1953, when Faisal came of age. He also held the title of Crown Prince of Iraq from 1943. A son of King 'Ali ibn Hussein of Hejaz, who was the elder brother of King Faisal I of Iraq, he assumed power upon the death of his brother in an automobile accident. He was deposed briefly by former prime minister Rashid 'Ali al-Kaylani, who led a pro-German coup during World War II but was restored after the United Kingdom invaded the country in May 1941. 'Abd al-Ilah stepped down in 1953, when Faisal came of age, but he continued to be a close adviser of the young king, and an advocate of a pro-Western foreign policy. He was killed, along with most of the royal family, on July 14, 1958, in a coup d'etat led by Colonel Abdul Karim Qassim that brought an end to the Iraqi monarchy. His body was dragged on al-Rashid street and was cut into pieces.

Son of the Hashimite king 'Ali ibn Hussein (ʿAli ibn Ḥusayn) of the Hejaz (northwestern Arabia), who was driven from Arabia by Ibn Saʿud, ʿAbd al-Ilah accompanied his father to Iraq in 1925. Upon King Ghazi’s death in 1939, he was appointed regent for his four-year-old nephew, Faisal II (Faysal II). ʿAbd al-Ilah ruled Iraq for 14 turbulent years, loyally serving the throne and supporting the Allies during World War II. In April 1941, faced with an uprising of army officers led by Rashid 'Ali al-Kaylani (Rashid ʿAli al-Gaylani), who was sympathetic to Germany and Italy, the regent was forced to leave Iraq. With British assistance, however, the revolt was suppressed by the end of May, and ʿAbd al-Ilah returned to Baghdad. Thereafter, in close collaboration with Nuri as-Said, he pursued a policy of moderate Iraqi nationalism and maintained strong ties with the West. When King Faysal reached legal age on May 2 (23?), 1953, the regent relinquished his functions but remained as the young king’s chief adviser and companion until both were killed during the Iraq revolution of 1958.

'Abd al-Ilah served as Regent for King Faisal II from April 4, 1939 to May 2 (23?), 1953, when Faisal came of age. He also held the title of Crown Prince of Iraq from 1943.

Son and heir of King 'Ali ibn Hussein of Hejaz, who was the elder brother of King Faisal I of Iraq, and brother of queen Aliya bint Ali, 'Abd al-Ilah assumed power upon Ghazi's death in an automobile accident. He served as Regent for the under-age Faisal II.

During World War II, 'Abd al-Ilah was deposed briefly by former Prime Minister Rashid 'Ali al-Kaylani. Rashid 'Ali led a pro-German coup d'état during World War II against 'Abd al-Ilah's pro-British government. After he fled the country, 'Abd al-Ilah was replaced as Regent by Sherif Sharaf. Sherif Sharaf was an aging, holy-minded relative of King Faisal. The deposed Regent spent his time with former Prime Minister Nuri as-Said as a refugee in Amman. 'Abd al-Ilah was a guest of Prince ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Husayn, the Hashemite ruler of Jordan.

On May 2, 1941, the United Kingdom launched offensive actions against the Iraqi rebels. On May 26, 'Abd al-Ilah called for an uprising of tribal and religious leaders to help him overthrow the insurgent government. He appealed specifically to the Iraqi people, the army and the police to accomplish "this heavy task".

By June 2, 1941, Rashid 'Ali's "National Defense Government" had collapsed and Rashid 'Ali had fled to Persia. 'Abd al-Ilah returned to Baghdad and was restored as Regent.

In 1942, Wendell Wilkie traveled to Britain and the Middle East as President Franklin D. Roosevelt's personal representative. In Iraq, 'Abd al-Ilah held a lavish state dinner attended by Wilkie.

In 1945, 'Abd al-Ilah visited the United States. He was the honoree at the first state dinner hosted by the new American First Lady, Bess Truman. The Regent of "friendly Iraq" was awarded a Legion of Merit military decoration by President Harry S. Truman.

In 1953, Abdul Ilah 'Abd al-Ilah stepped down when Faisal II came of age. However, he continued to be a close adviser of the young King, and an advocate of a pro-Western foreign policy.

In 1955, Iraq adopted the Baghdad Pact (also known as the Central Treaty Organization, or CENTO). The other members of the organization were Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. The organization's headquarters were initially located in Baghdad.

In May 1957, King Ibn Sa'ud made an eight-day visit to Iraq. He was met on his arrival by King Faisal II, Crown Prince 'Abd al-Ilah, and Prime Minister Nuri as-Said. It was the Saudi King's first ever visit to Iraq and it commemorated Iraq's membership in the Arab Federation and its break with the United Arab Republic of Gamal Abdel Nasser.

During the July 14 Revolution, 'Abd al-Ilah was killed, along with most of the royal family. On July 14, 1958, a coup d'état led by Colonel 'Abdul Karim Qassim toppled the government and brought an end to the Iraqi monarchy.

Alternative names include:

'Abd al-Ilah
'Abd al-Ilah of Hejaz
'Abdul Ilah
'Abdullah
Al-Ilah
Al-Ilah, 'Abd
Al-Ilah of Hejaz
Ilah
Ilah, 'Abdul

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El-Hibri, Fuad

Fuad El-Hibri (b. March 2, 1958, Hildesheim, Germany – d. April 23, 2022, Potomac, Maryland) was a German-American businessman and philanthropist, and founder of Emergent BioSolutions.

Fuad El-Hibri was born in Hildesheim,  Germany.  He spent his childhood equally in Europe and the Middle East before coming to the United States to get an economics degree from Stanford and an MBA from Yale. 

El-Hibri worked most of his career in the telecommunications industry. Between graduate school and working for BioPort and Emergent, he worked abroad, in countries including Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Venezuela and El Salvador.

El-Hibri served as president of Digicel from August 2000 to February 2005. He served as the president of East West Resources Corporation from September 1990 to January 2004.

He was a member of the senior management team of Speywood, LTD. in the United Kingdom and organized and directed the management buyout of Porton Products Ltd. El-Hibri reorganized Porton. He was advisor to the senior management team involved in the oversight of  Porton operations; served as a senior associate and resident project manager at Booz Allen Hamilton, and was a manager of Citicorp in New York City (Mergers and Acquisitions), and in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (Operations and Credit).

Beginning in June 1990, El-Hibri was chairman of East West Resources Corporation, a venture capital and financial consulting firm. He served as the chairman of Digicel Holdings from August 2000 to October 2006. He served as executive chairman of the board of Emergent BioDefense Operations Lansing Inc. 

El-Hibri was on the Emergent BioSolutions board of directors. He was both the board chairman and the chief executive officer (CEO) of the company from 2004 to 2012. He was the board chairman and CEO of BioPort Corporation from 1998 to 2004. Emergent acquired BioPort in 2004.

El-Hibri's main role as the chairman of Emergent was to develop corporate strategy and mergers and acquisitions.

After the 2001 anthrax attacks, some conspiracy theorists posted Internet websites that tried to imply that El-Hibri was connected to Osama Bin Laden and was connected to the anthrax attacks. USA Today interviewed El-Hibri in 2004 for an article about Muslim CEOs of companies helping to fight terrorism, and wrote, "El-Hibri calls the Web sites annoying and jokes that he's lucky to be in the vaccination business so that he can inoculate himself from the pain of accusers who can't be confronted."

One of the Yale University School of Management donor-funded awards, the El-Hibri Award provides first year School of Management students with internship program funding over the summer, seed capital for new businesses for second-year men and women and special funding for those going into early-stage start-up ventures. A group of 14 Yale alumni - entrepreneurs, innovators, and investors - choose the students who receive the awards, which total $100,000.

El-Hibri served on the boards of the United States Chamber of Commerce, International Biomedical Research Alliance, and National Health Museum. He also served on the advisory boards of the Heifetz International Music Institute and Yale Healthcare Conference.

El-Hibri's mother is a German Catholic, and his father is a Lebanese businessman. As a child, he lived in Germany and Lebanon. He became a United States citizen in 1999. He died on April 23, 2022 at Potomac, Maryland from pancreatic cancer.

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