Taha Yassin Ramadan

Taha Yassin Ramadan
Vice President of Iraq
In office March 1991 – 9 April 2003
Preceded by	Taha Mohieddin Maruf
Succeeded by	Ibrahim Jaafari and Rowsch Shaways
Head of the Popular Army
In office 1974–1991
Deputy Secretary of the Regional Command of the Iraqi Regional Branch
In office 16 July 1979 – September 1991
Preceded by	Saddam Hussein
Succeeded by	Izzat Ibrahim ad-Douri
Member of the Regional Command of the Iraqi Regional Branch
In office October 1966 – 9 April 2003
Personal details
Born	1938 Mosul, Iraq
Died	March 20, 2007 (aged 69) Baghdad, Iraq
Political party	Iraqi Regional Branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party

Taha Yasin Ramadan al-Jizrawi (Arabic: طه ياسين رمضان الجزراوي‎; 1938 – 20 March 2007) was a prominent Iraqi Kurd,^[1] serving as Vice President of Iraq from March 1991 to the fall of Saddam Hussein in April 2003.

Following the fall of Saddam's government, Taha Yasin Ramadan was placed on the U.S. list of most-wanted Iraqis and depicted as the Ten of Diamonds in the most-wanted Iraqi playing cards. He was captured on August 19, 2003 in Mosul, by fighters of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and handed over to US forces.^[2]

He was one of the defendants in the Iraq Special Tribunal's Al-Dujail trial. On November 5, 2006 he was sentenced to life imprisonment. On December 26, 2006 the appeals court sent the case file back to the Tribunal, saying the sentence was too lenient and demanding a death sentence.^[3] On February 12, 2007 he was sentenced to death by hanging.^[4] His sentence was carried out on the fourth anniversary of Iraq's US invasion, before dawn on March 20, 2007.^[5][6]

Proposed resolution to United States-Iraq conflict

In October 2002, four months before the United States invaded Iraq, Ramadan suggested U.S. President George W. Bush and Saddam Hussein settle their difference in a duel.^[7] He reasoned this would not only serve as an alternative to a war that was certain to damage Iraq's infrastructure,^[8] but that it would also reduce the suffering of the Iraqi and American peoples. Ramadan's offer included the possibility that a group of US officials would face off with a group of Iraqi officials of same or similar rank (President v. President, Vice President v. Vice President, etc.). Ramadan proposed that the duel be held in a neutral land, with each party using the same weapons, and with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan presiding as the supervisor. On behalf of President Bush, White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer declined the offer.

References

1. "Taha Yassin Ramadan". The Guardian (London). March 21, 2007. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
2. CBS/Associated Press (August 19, 2003). "Saddam's VP Is Captured". CBS News. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
3. Associated Press (December 28, 2006). "Iraqi court upholds Saddam's death sentence". MSNBC. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
4. "Top Saddam aide sentenced to hang". BBS News. February 12, 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
5. "Former Iraq vice-president hanged". BBC News. March 20, 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
6. KIM GAMEL (March 20, 2007). "Taha Yassin Ramadan, Saddam's Deputy, Is Hanged Before Dawn". Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
7. "BBC article: Bush challenged to 'duel' with Saddam, October 3, 2002". BBC News. 2002-10-03. Retrieved 2009-10-19.
8. From Kelly Wallace (CNN Washington Bureau) (October 3, 2002). "CNN.com - W.H. rejects Bush-Saddam duel offer - Oct. 3, 2002". Archives.cnn.com. Retrieved 2009-10-19.