# Iraq helps found the Arab League (22 March 1945)

URL: https://allhistories.com/iraq/timeline/1945-iraq-helps-found-the-arab-league
Themes: Key Events

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Said had long promoted schemes for Arab unity, including a proposed union of the Fertile Crescent under Hashemite leadership. In 1943-1944 Arab governments held talks that led to the Alexandria Protocol in October 1944. On 22 March 1945 Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Transjordan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen signed the Pact of the League of Arab States in Cairo. The League was designed to coordinate policy while respecting the sovereignty of each state, a looser model than the one Nuri al-Said had wanted. The League's first priority was the future of Palestine, where Arab states opposed Jewish immigration and partition. In the same year Iraq also became a founding member of the United Nations, signing the UN Charter at San Francisco in June 1945.

## Why it matters
Membership of the Arab League placed Iraq at the centre of inter-Arab politics, where it competed with Egypt for leadership for decades.

Ruler at the Time: [Faisal II](https://allhistories.com/iraq/rulers/faisal-ii)

Prime Minister: Hamdi al-Pachachi (Independent / Royalist)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Arab League](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_League)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica — Arab League](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Arab-League)
- [Wikipedia — Nuri al-Said](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuri_al-Said)