Muzahim Al-Khayat

Muzahim Qasim Al-Khayyat (; born June 11, 1953) is an Iraqi surgeon, academic, and politician.

Early life and education Muzahim Qasim Al-Khayyat was born on June 11, 1953 (29 Ramadan 1372) in the city of Mosul, Iraq, to a prominent Mosul family in the Kingdom of Iraq. His father was a tailor, and the neighborhood where his father's shop was located was named after him. He is the seventh son in a family of ten, with roots tracing back to the Arab Juhaysh tribe in Nineveh Province.

He earned his Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery degree from the University of Mosul in 1977, a fellowship from the Royal College of Surgeons in London in 2014, and the title of Professor of General and Laparoscopic Surgery in 2004. He spent one year attending training courses in Britain in 1993–1994, and worked as a visiting professor in the field of laparoscopic surgery in Kent, Britain.

Politics He assumed the administration of the province of Nineveh after the dismissal of the former governor, Nofal Al-Akoub following the 2019 Mosul ferry sinking.

He headed the “Opinion of Nineveh” coalition and allied with the Taqaddam Party, headed by Muhammad al-Halbousi, to run in the 2021 Iraqi legislative elections. Al-Khayyat won the majority of votes in the constituency he ran in.

He currently holds the position of chairman of the Parliamentary Education Committee.

Personal life

Al-Khayyat survived an assassination attempt during the period when professors at the University of Mosul were being targeted, while serving as Dean of the College of Medicine in 2008. He was seriously injured by gunfire as he left his office at the college, but survived and recovered after receiving treatment.

He was a hobbyist athlete in his youth, playing football and basketball, as a member of the basketball team. He moved to play with Al-Yarmouk Club after it merged with Al-Intisar Club, then moved to Al-Futuwa Club. He became part of the University of Mosul basketball team and scored high points in several games. He participated in the Second Sports Tournament in Basra in 1972 and in tournaments held in Aleppo, Syria, in 1974, and in Baalbek, Lebanon. He was also a member of the administrative body of the Iraqi National Union of Students, Nineveh Branch, from 1972 to 1976 and became a member of the Central Council of the Union until 1976.

Selected works “The Goals of Higher Education”, in collaboration with Haseeb Elias Hadid, Dar Al-Kutub Al-Ilmiyyah, 2014