ʻAbd al-Muḥsin Saʻdūn or Abd al-Muhsin Al-Saadoon, KCMG was an Iraqi politician who served as Prime Minister of Iraq on four separate occasions between 1922 and 1929.
Origins Prior to the Monarchy
Abd al-Muhsin as-Sa'dun hailed from a family descended from the most powerful tribe within the Muntafiq Confederation. In the mid-nineteenth century the Ottomanfostered rivalries between the dominant Sa'dun chiefs by offering enticing land deals to the highest bidders among them, pursuant to a policy of tribal weakening and division. In 1871 Midhat Pasha finally rent the family in two between "Ottomanizers" and their opponents by offering some chiefs permanent ownership of once communal tribal lands. The chiefs then grew very wealthy by converting the rest of the tribe into mere tenants for their exploitation. Great Britain took Iraq from the Ottomans following World War I, and pursued a policy whereby they lavished political and economic favors on tribal leaders in order to encourage them to exert their influence in ways conducive to British economic designs in the country. as-Sa'dun was one of many to consistently obtain seats in Parliament in exchange for this service. Notably, however, while many tribal leaders at the time were provincial in outlook, as-Sa'dun was distinguished both on account of being a sayyid, and, having broadened his horizons at the Military Academy in Istanbul. As-Sa'dun served as a military officer during Ottoman control of the country, as an aide-de-camp to Sultan Abd-ul-Hamid II, and as a ten-year member of the Ottoman Parliament. Afterward he returned to Iraq and embarked on a career in politics as a formidable politician.
Time in Parliament
as-Sa'dun was a shrewd politician with many tribal and British connections. This made him one of Faisal I of Iraq's bitterest rivals, as he frequently acted as an instrument of British supremacy over the Iraqi interests Faisal was trying to pursue. As premier in 1923 he cracked down on a movement calling for a boycott of elections for the Constituent Assembly. He was president of the Constituent Assembly in 1924. Then in 1926 he assured the smooth passage of the Second Ango-Iraqi Treaty despite its inclusion of an unequal twenty-five year Financial and Military Agreement between Iraq and Britain. He was elected as the president of the Chamber of Deputies from 1926 to 1928 and in 1929. During this, his third term as prime minister, As-Sa'dun also negotiated the Turkey-Iraqi Treaty in which Iraq promised to pay Turkey 10 percent of its revenues from the Mosul oil fieldsin return for Turkish recognition of Iraqi control of the area. In this way he contributed immensely to Iraq's diplomatic efforts. Nonetheless, by December 1928 popular protest over British domination of Iraq had become so fervid that he began to support Faisal I in demanding more autonomy. He resigned in protest on January 1929.
Death
During his fourth term in office, Al-Sa'dun died. He died of a self-inflicted wound from a gunshot on November 13, 1929—a consequence of the opprobrium he had elicited from both the Iraqi population and, subsequently, the British and international community for his "disloyalty." He left behind a suicide note to his son stating "I have suffered with forbearance all possible insults and contempt."
