Yasin al-Hashimi, born Yasin Hilmi Salman (; 1884 – 21 January 1937), was an Iraqi politician who twice served as the prime minister. Like many of Iraq's early leaders, al-Hashimi served as a military officer during Ottoman control of the country. He made his political debut under the government of his predecessor, Jafar al-Askari, and replaced him as prime minister shortly after, in August 1924. Al-Hashimi served for ten months before he was replaced, in turn by Abd al-Muhsin as-Sa'dun. Over the next ten years he filled a variety of governmental positions finally returning to the office of prime minister in March 1935. On 30 October 1936, Hashimi became the first Iraqi prime minister to be deposed in a coup, which was led by General Bakr Sidqi and a coalition of ethnic minorities. Unlike al-Askari, who was then his minister of defense, al-Hashimi survived the coup and made his way to Beirut, Lebanon, where he died three months later. His older brother and close ally, Taha al-Hashimi, served as Prime Minister of Iraq in 1941.
Early life and family
Al-Hashimi was born as "Yasin Hilmi" in Baghdad in 1884, during Ottoman rule. His father, Sayyid Salman, was the mukhtar (headman) of the Barudiyya Quarter of Baghdad and claimed descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The family was middle class, Sunni Muslim and ethnically Arab, although the family's claim of Arab descent has been disputed. According to historian Muhammad Y. Muslih, the family were descendants of the Turkish Karawiyya tribe that settled in Iraq in the 17th century.
Military career
Ottoman service
He enrolled into the Ottoman Military Academy of Istanbul and graduated in 1902. During his time in the academy, he adopted the nisba (surname) "al-Hashimi" in reference to the religiously prestigious Banu Hashim tribe of Muhammad, from which his family claimed descent. He performed well at the academy and was recognized for his military skills. In 1913 he was stationed in Mosul and joined al-Ahd, an underground Arab nationalist society composed of Ottoman Arab officers. The branch in Mosul had been founded by al-Hashimi's brother Taha and was led by al-Hashimi. Among the officers under al-Hashimi's command were future Iraqi statesmen and military figures, including Mawlad Mukhlis, Ali Jawdat al-Aiyubi and Jamil al-Midfai. Through al-Hashimi as a liaison, al-Ahd developed relations with al-Fatat, an underground Arab nationalist society based in Damascus, which al-Hashimi joined in 1915 during a trip to Syria following the outbreak of World War I. Al-Fatat was allied with Emir Faisal, a leader of the Sharifian Army and a contender for establishing a monarchy over a united state consisting of the Ottomans' Arab territories.
He was loyal to the Ottomans throughout World War I, during which the Ottomans were part of the Central Powers alliance. While he was based in Tulkarm, al-Hashimi was asked by Faisal to join the Sharifian Army, but he refused, stating he could not abandon his military duties. Despite his Arab nationalist affiliations, he opposed a plot by the nationalists to kill Jamal Pasha, despite his awareness that Jamal Pasha was intent on crushing the Arab nationalist movement. In 1917, he commanded an Ottoman division at Galicia during the Russian offensive. He was recognized for his successes against the Russians during that campaign, including by German Emperor Wilhelm II, and subsequently promoted to major general.
In 1918 al-Hashimi was assigned as the commander of the Ottoman Fourth Army garrison in Tulkarm. That year, in the spring, he commanded Ottoman troops against the British-led offensive in Amman and al-Salt. He was wounded during these battles and sent to Damascus to recover. The British and their Arab allies in the Sharifian Army defeated the Ottomans and an armistice was concluded in October 1918. He attempted to resume his service in the Ottoman Army, but was refused because he did not apply for readmission within a year of the armistice.
Chief of Staff of the Arab Army
Al-Hashimi's refusal to join Faisal's army came despite promises of support he gave to Faisal in 1915. Of all the personalities Faisal met in his 1915 Damascus trip, it was al-Hashimi's assertion of support at the home of Nasib al-Bakri that convinced Faisal to launch the revolt. As the chief of staff of mostly Arab units in the Ottomans' Arab provinces, al-Hashimi's word carried weight and when Faisal offered to support al-Hashimi's units with Hejazi tribal fighters, al-Hashimi replied that he had "no need of them", but just wanted Faisal "to lead us and be in the vanguard".