Ghazi of Iraq
Ghazi (
1912 -
1939) was
king of Iraq from
1933 to
1939. He was born in
1912 in
Mecca, in present-day
Saudi Arabia, the son of
Faisal I, the first
king of Iraq. A staunch
nationalist, opposed to
British interests in his country, Ghazi's reign was characterized by tensions between civilians and the army, which sought control of the government. He supported General Bakr Sidqi in his coup, which replaced the civilian government with a military one. This was the first coup d'état to take place in the Arab world.
He died in 1939 in a car accident involving a sports car he was driving. His son Faisal succeeded him.