Muhammad Mahdi Salih

Mohammad Mahdi Salih Al-Rawi (Arabic: محمد مهدي صالح الراوي) is an Iraqi politician who was Trade Minister in the government of President Saddam Hussein.^[4] He was the Minister of Finance from 1989 to 1991.^[5]

Muhammad Mahdi Salih
Minister of Trade
In office 1987 – 9 April 2003
President	Saddam Hussein
Preceded by	Hassan Ali[1][2]
Succeeded by	Mohammed Al-Jubouri (interim)[3]
Chief of the Presidential Office
In office ~1980s–1987
President	Saddam Hussein
Personal details
Born	1947 or 1949 Rawa, Al-Anbar, Iraq
Political party	Iraqi Ba'ath Party
Occupation	Politician

Pre-War Career

Salih was born between 1947 and 1949 in Al Anbar Governorate in western Iraq.^[6] He was the Chief of Saddam Hussein's Presidential Office in the mid-1980s and then became Minister of Trade from 1987 until the downfall of Hussein.^[6] In October 1995, the United States listed al Salih as a Designated Individual under their programme of sanctions against Iraq.^[7] al-Salih guided Ibrahim Hesqel, who was Trade Envoy to China.^[8]

2003 Iraq War

Following the United States-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, the United States distributed a deck of most-wanted Iraqi playing cards, which included al-Saleh as the "six of hearts".^[4] His assets were frozen under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1483 as a former official.^[6] He was taken into custody by the US on 23 April 2003.^[9] He was held by the US military at Camp Cropper, a base just outside Baghdad.^[10] In July 2010, seven years after his capture, he was handed over to the custody of the Iraq government.^[11]

In 2011 he was found innocent of charges against him and in March 2012 he was released by the Iraqi authorities and immediately left the country.^[4]

Post-War

Following the 2013 Al Anbar governorate election, Salih was rumoured to be a candidate supported by the Uniters List for the position of Governor of Anbar.^[12][13] The Uniters List later denied the rumours.^[14] In 2014 he was living in Amman, Jordan.^{[citation needed]}