View source for Federalism in Iraq

The 2005 [[Constitution of Iraq]] defines [[Iraq]] for the first time as a [[Federal republic|federal]] country.<ref>"The Republic of Iraq is a single federal, independent and fully sovereign state in which the system of government is republican, representative, parliamentary, and democratic, and this Constitution is a guarantor of the unity of Iraq." ({{harvnb|Constitution|2005}}, Art. 1)</ref>

==History==
After the defeat of the [[Ottoman Empire]] in 1919, Iraq became a [[League of Nations mandate]] [[Mandatory Iraq|under temporary British control]]. [[Mahmud Barzanji]] led a Kurdish revolt against the British and in 1922 attempted to establish a [[Kingdom of Kurdistan|state]] in northern Iraq. In 1924 the British defeated Mahmud, and the Mosul region was incorporated into the [[Kingdom of Iraq]]. After the British occupation, Kurdish leaders continued to press for autonomy within Iraq. In 1970 the Iraqi government agreed to create the [[Kurdistan Region]] covering three provinces of northern Iraq.

After the end of the [[Gulf War]] in 1991 the Kurdish region rose up against President [[Saddam Hussein]] and gained ''de facto'' independence under the protection of a [[Iraqi no-fly zones|no fly zone]]. After the [[2003 invasion of Iraq|American-led invasion of Iraq]] in 2003, the short-lived [[Transitional Administrative Law]] recognised the existing Kurdish regional government and defined Iraq for the first time as a federal country.

==Article 118==
Article 118 of the constitution of Iraq provided that no new region may be created before the Iraqi National Assembly has passed a law that provides the procedures for forming the region. This law was passed in October 2006 after an agreement was reached with the [[Iraqi Accord Front]] to form the constitutional review committee and to defer implementation of the law for 18 months. Legislators from the [[Iraqi Accord Front]], [[Sadrist Movement]] and [[Islamic Virtue Party]] all opposed the bill.<ref>[http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=IBO145418&WTmodLoc=World-R5-Alertnet-4 Iraqi parliament approves federal law]{{dead link|date=July 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, ''[[Reuters]]'', 2006-10-11</ref>

==Notes and references==
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==Sources==
* {{cite act |title=Iraqi Constitution |ref={{harvid|Constitution|2005}} |type=Constitution |year=2005 |url=http://www.iraqinationality.gov.iq/attach/iraqi_constitution.pdf |accessdate=13 December 2015 |language=en |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128152712/http://www.iraqinationality.gov.iq/attach/iraqi_constitution.pdf |archivedate=28 November 2016 }} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128152712/http://www.iraqinationality.gov.iq/attach/iraqi_constitution.pdf |date=28 November 2016 }}

{{Asia topic|Federalism in}}

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[[Category:Federalism by country|Iraq]]
[[Category:Government of Iraq]]

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