'IRAQ AND THE PERSIAN GULF' [‎257v] (517/862)

390 ADMINISTRATION AND PUBLIC LIFE
formed under the President of a Council of 17 ministers, of whom
only 8 were heads of ministries. The ministries consisted of the
Interior, Finance, Justice, Defence, Public Works, Education and
Public Health, Commerce, and Waqf. Shias and Sunnis, townsmen
and tribal shaikhs, Christians and Jews, were all represented among
the ministers; the ministry of finance in particular was seldom out of
the hands of Sasoon Heskail between 1920 and 1925, who was a mem
ber of the well-known family of Baghdadi Jews. To each ministry a
British adviser was attached. This Provisional Council remained in
office until the coronation of King Faisal in August 1921.
The next step was the establishment of a civilian Iraqi administra
tion in the provinces and the restoration of the Ottoman subdivision
by districts and parishes (p. 265). At this time the careful organiza
tion of the country into 14 provinces was temporarily abandoned in
favour of a tenfold division, closer to the former Ottoman grouping
in 9 or 10 sanjaqs. British Political Officers were replaced by Iraqi
officials, but retiring Political Officers remained as advisers to the
provincial governors. The reorganization of the Levies became neces
sary because of the approaching reduction of British military forces
(p. 296). Their size was increased to 5,000 men, and the force was
placed under the direct control of the High Commissioner, the cost
being defrayed by the British Treasury. The Levies were not in
corporated in the Iraqi army on account of the scarcity of Arab officers
and the disinclination to appoint British officers to the Iraqi army.
The Middle East conference at Cairo in April 1921 led to the de
cision to institute a monarchy in Iraq. Shortly afterwards a referen
dum was held and on 18 August Faisal, having been selected as ruler
with practical unanimity (p. 293), was proclaimed King of Iraq. The
Provisional Government then resigned and a new cabinet of nine
members was appointed, the departments of Education and Public
Health being separated.
THE CONSTITUTION
Iraq is to-day a constitutional monarchy under a king, Faisal II, a
child, born on 2 May 1935. His maternal uncle, the Amir Abdul Ilah,
acts as regent. Under the Organic Law, adopted by the Constituent
Assembly on 2 August 1924 and amended in a few details on 29 July
1925, a limited monarchy with responsible government, ‘a constitu
tional, representative and democratic government, limited by law’,
was established. The instructions to the draftsmen were that the