Falih Al-Fayyadh


Falih Faisal Fahad Al-Fayyad is an Iraqi politician, former national security advisor, and the current chairman of the Popular Mobilization Commission. He is also the founder of the Ataa Movement.

Biography

Al-Fayyad was born on 27 March 1956 in Baghdad. He received his bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Mosul in 1977. He is the Chairman of the Popular Mobilization Commission and the Chairman and Founder of the Ataa Movement. Until July 2020, Al-Fayyad was the Iraqi Prime Minister’s National Security Advisor.
On 8 January 2021, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Al-Fayyad for "his connection to serious human rights abuse", and addressed his role in the violent repression of Iraqi protests beginning in October 2019. During the protests, Iranian-backed militias, headed by Al-Fayyad, used marksmen to fire live bullets, hot water and tear gas against anti-government protesters, leading to many deaths and injuries. The sanction was based on the Magnitsky Act and resulted in Al-Fayyad being placed on the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List by the Office of Foreign Assets Control's.

Positions