Editing Tariq Aziz (section)

{{Short description|Iraqi Assyrian politician (1936–2015)}}
{{other people}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2015}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Tariq Aziz<br> ܛܐܪܩ ܥܙܝܙ<br /> طارق عزيز
| image               = Tariq Aziz japan 1985 2.jpg
| caption             = Tariq Aziz in [[Japan]], 1985
| order               = [[Deputy Prime Minister]] of Iraq
| term_start          = 16 July 1979
| term_end            = 9 April 2003
| order1              = [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Iraq)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]
| term_start1         = 11 November 1983
| term_end1           = 19 December 1991
| president1          = [[Saddam Hussein]]
| predecessor1        = [[Sa'dun Hammadi]]
| successor1          = [[Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf]]
| order2              = Member of the [[Revolutionary Command Council (Iraq)|Revolutionary Command Council]]
| term_start2         = 16 July 1979
| term_end2           = 9 April 2003
| order3              = Member of the [[Regional Command of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region|Regional Command]] of the [[Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region|Iraqi Regional Branch]]
| term_start3         = 1 August 1965
| term_end3           = 9 April 2003
| birthname           = 
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|df=yes|1936|4|28}}
| birth_place         = [[Tel Keppe]], [[Kingdom of Iraq]]
| death_date          = {{death date and age|df=yes|2015|6|5|1936|4|28}}
| death_place         = [[Nasiriyah]], [[Iraq]]
| death_cause         = [[Heart attack]]
| party               = [[Ba'ath Party|Arab Socialist Ba'ath]] (until 1966)<br />[[Ba'ath Party (Iraq)|Baghdad-based Ba'ath]]  (1966–1982) ([[Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region|Ba'ath – Iraq Region]])
| nationality         = Iraqi
| spouse              = Violet Yusef Nobud
| children            = 4
| profession          = Journalist, politician
}}
'''Tariq Aziz''' ({{langx|syr|ܛܐܪܩ ܥܙܝܙ}}, {{langx|ar|طارق عزيز}} {{transliteration|ar|DIN|Ṭāriq ʿAzīz}}, 28 April 1936 – 5 June 2015) was an [[Iraq|Iraqi]] politician who served as the [[Deputy Prime Minister|Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq]] from 1979 to 2003 and [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Iraq)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]] from 1983 to 1991. He was a close advisor of [[President of Iraq|President]] [[Saddam Hussein]]. Additionally, Aziz was a member of the Revolutionary Command Council and the Regional Command of the Iraqi Branch of the [[Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region|Ba'ath Party]]. Ethnically Assyrian, he was both an [[Arab nationalism|Arab nationalist]] and a [[Chaldean Catholic Church|Chaldean Catholic]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Free Tariq Aziz |url=http://www.chaldeannews.com/free-tariq-aziz/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150211052928/http://www.chaldeannews.com/free-tariq-aziz/ |archive-date=11 February 2015 |work=chaldeannews.com |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Minority Rights Group International : Iraq : Chaldeans |url=http://www.minorityrights.org/5738/iraq/chaldeans.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140704015340/http://www.minorityrights.org/5738/iraq/chaldeans.html |archive-date=4 July 2014 |work=minorityrights.org |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Tariq Aziz Faces Trial in Iraq |url=http://www.chaldeannews.com/tariq-aziz-faces-trial-in-iraq/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150211064922/http://www.chaldeannews.com/tariq-aziz-faces-trial-in-iraq/ |archive-date=11 February 2015 |work=chaldeannews.com |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

His association with Saddam began in the 1950s when both were [[Activism|activists]] for the then-banned [[Ba'ath Party|Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party]]. Due to security concerns, Saddam rarely left Iraq, so Aziz would often be Iraq's highest-level representative at international and diplomatic summits. In the year prior to the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]], Aziz said that the United States did not want "regime change" in Iraq but rather "region change". He said that the [[George W. Bush administration|Bush administration]]'s reasons for war were "oil and Israel." After surrendering to American forces on 24 April 2003, Aziz was held in prison, first by American forces and subsequently by the new Iraqi government, in [[Camp Cropper]] in western Baghdad. He was acquitted at trial of some charges but was later found guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced to 15 years in 2009 for the executions of 42 merchants found guilty of [[Profiteering (business)|profiteering]] in 1992 and another 7 years for relocating Kurds.<ref>{{cite news |date=11 March 2009 |title=Tariq Aziz guilty of Iraq murders |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7937034.stm |access-date=11 March 2009 |publisher=BBC}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Burns |first=John F. |date=22 October 2002 |title=Threats and Responses: Baghdad's View; Citing North Korea, an Iraqi Aide Says 'Oil and Israel', Not Weapons, Spur the U.S. |url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60C12F83D580C718EDDA90994DA404482&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fA%2fAziz%2c%20Tariq |access-date=10 February 2007 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}{{Dead link|date=August 2018|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref><ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite news |last1=Oppel |first1=Richard A. Jr. |last2=Mizher |first2=Qais |date=22 July 2007 |title=U.S. Attack Near Baghdad Reported to Kill at Least 15 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/22/world/middleeast/22iraq.html |access-date=19 April 2017 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>

On 26 October 2010, he was sentenced to [[Death penalty|death]] by the [[Iraqi High Tribunal]], which sparked international condemnation from Iraqi bishops, other Iraqis, the [[Holy See|Vatican]], the United Nations, the [[European Union]] and the human rights organization [[Amnesty International]], as well as various governments around the world, such as Russia.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2010-10-27 |title=Russia appeals to Iraq to not execute Aziz |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-52488120101027 |access-date=2023-01-12 |work=Reuters |language=en}}</ref> On 28 October 2010, it was reported that Aziz, as well as 25 fellow prison inmates, had begun a [[hunger strike]] to protest the fact that they could not receive their once-monthly visit from friends and relatives, which was normally set for the last Friday of each month.<ref>{{cite news |date=29 October 2010 |title=Iraq's Tareq Aziz on hunger strike: son |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hP16mo9Mw31RmWVsbU3JXAnSXpKw?docId=CNG.f7ff59e3829714d23524d35ed1afdd63.511 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120731163614/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hP16mo9Mw31RmWVsbU3JXAnSXpKw?docId=CNG.f7ff59e3829714d23524d35ed1afdd63.511 |archive-date=31 July 2012 |agency=AFP}}</ref> Iraqi President [[Jalal Talabani]] declared that he would not sign Aziz's execution order, thus commuting his sentence to indefinite imprisonment. Aziz remained in custody for the rest of his life and died of a [[heart attack]] in the city of [[Nasiriyah]] on 5 June 2015, aged 79 and is buried in Jordan.<ref name="nypost.com2">{{cite web |date=5 June 2015 |title=Saddam Hussein aide Tariq Aziz dies at age 79 |url=https://nypost.com/2015/06/05/saddam-hussein-aide-tariq-aziz-dies-at-age-79/ |access-date=19 April 2017 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2010-10-27 |title=Russia appeals to Iraq to not execute Aziz |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-52488120101027 |access-date=2023-01-12 |work=Reuters |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Burns |first=John F. |date=22 October 2002 |title=Threats and Responses: Baghdad's View; Citing North Korea, an Iraqi Aide Says 'Oil and Israel', Not Weapons, Spur the U.S. |url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60C12F83D580C718EDDA90994DA404482&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fA%2fAziz%2c%20Tariq |access-date=10 February 2007 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}{{Dead link|date=August 2018|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref><ref name="nytimes.com2">{{cite news |last1=Oppel |first1=Richard A. Jr. |last2=Mizher |first2=Qais |date=22 July 2007 |title=U.S. Attack Near Baghdad Reported to Kill at Least 15 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/22/world/middleeast/22iraq.html |access-date=19 April 2017 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name="telegraph.co.uk">[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/8139480/Iraq-president-refuses-to-sign-execution-order-for-Tariq-Aziz.html Iraq president refuses to sign execution order for Tariq Aziz ''Daily Telegraph'', 17 November 2010]</ref><ref name="nypost.com">{{cite web |date=5 June 2015 |title=Saddam Hussein aide Tariq Aziz dies at age 79 |url=https://nypost.com/2015/06/05/saddam-hussein-aide-tariq-aziz-dies-at-age-79/ |access-date=19 April 2017 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref>

One of the most prominent figures during the Ba'athist era of Iraq, he was the sole Christian to hold a high position in Saddam's government. Aziz's trademark such as cigars and his glasses and mustache have drawn comparisons with the American movie star, [[Groucho Marx]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Free Tariq Aziz |url=http://www.chaldeannews.com/free-tariq-aziz/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150211052928/http://www.chaldeannews.com/free-tariq-aziz/ |archive-date=11 February 2015 |work=chaldeannews.com |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Minority Rights Group International : Iraq : Chaldeans |url=http://www.minorityrights.org/5738/iraq/chaldeans.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140704015340/http://www.minorityrights.org/5738/iraq/chaldeans.html |archive-date=4 July 2014 |work=minorityrights.org |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Tariq Aziz Faces Trial in Iraq |url=http://www.chaldeannews.com/tariq-aziz-faces-trial-in-iraq/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150211064922/http://www.chaldeannews.com/tariq-aziz-faces-trial-in-iraq/ |archive-date=11 February 2015 |work=chaldeannews.com |df=dmy-all}}</ref>