Sassoon Eskell

Sir Sassoon Eskell , KBE (; 17 March 1860 – 31 August 1932), also known as Sassoon Effendi, was an Iraqi statesman, politician and financier. He is regarded in Iraq as the Father of Parliament. Eskell was the first Minister of Finance in the Kingdom and a permanent Member of Parliament until his death. Along with Gertrude Bell and T. E. Lawrence, he was instrumental in creating and establishing the Kingdom of Iraq post-Ottoman rule, and he founded the nascent Iraqi government's laws and financial structure.

Eskell was one of the most prominent Jews in Iraq. He was knighted by King George V in 1923. King Faisal I conferred on him the Civil Rafidain Medal Grade II, the Shahinshah awarded him the Shir-o-khorshi medal and the Ottoman Empire decorated him with the Al-Moutamayez Medal. Sassoon was born on 17 March 1860 in Baghdad, Iraq. He was a cousin of the celebrated English war poet and author Siegfried Sassoon, through their common ancestor, Heskel Elkebir (1740–1816). His father was Hakham Heskel, Shalma, Ezra, Shlomo-David, a student of Hakham Abdallah Somekh. In 1873 Heskel travelled to India to become the Chief Rabbi and Shohet of the thriving Baghdadi Jewish Community there. In 1885 he returned to Baghdad as the leading rabbinical authority who was elected deputy for Baghdad to the first Ottoman Parliament in 1876 during the reign of Sultan Abdul Hamid II and later became Senator of the Kingdom of Iraq (1925–1932). Sassoon then went to London and Vienna at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna to receive his higher education in economics and law. He finally returned to Constantinople to obtain another law degree. of March 1921. The British Empire's best minds on the Middle East would determine the fate of Mesopotamia, Transjordan, and Palestine. Churchill's objectives were to save money by reducing Britain's overseas military presence; find a way to maintain political control over Britain's mandate areas as identified in the Sykes-Picot Agreement; protect what was then suspected to be substantial oil reserves in Iraq; and lastly preserve an open trade route to India, the Crown Jewel of the empire. Representing the Iraqis, two members of the council were picked to join the delegation: Sassoon Eskell and Ja'far Pasha al-Askari; with the disliked Talib al-Naqib left behind. It was at this conference, with Sassoon's and Ja'far Pasha's approval that Emir Faisal was chosen for the throne of Iraq.

Ministerial office

When Faisal I was enthroned as King of Iraq, a new ministry was formed on 1 September 1921 by Prime Minister Abd al-Rahman al-Naqib in which Sassoon was re-appointed Minister of Finance. He was re-appointed Minister of Finance again in five successive governments Eskell demanded that Iraq's oil revenue be remunerated in gold rather than sterling; at the time, this request seemed bizarre since sterling was backed by the gold standard. Nevertheless, his demand was reluctantly accepted. This concession later benefited Iraq's treasury during World War II, when the gold standard was abandoned and sterling plummeted. He thus secured countless additional millions of Iraqi dinars for the State.

In 1925 he was elected deputy for Baghdad in the first parliament of the kingdom and was re-elected to all successive parliaments until his death. He served as chairman of the financial committee and during this time earned his reputation as Father of Parliament. He was connected and well acquainted with most major European statesmen of the time.

Death Eskell died in Paris, France, on 31 August 1932 while undergoing medical treatment. He was buried at the Père-Lachaise cemetery on Boulevard de Ménilmontant in Paris. On 7 September 1932, a commemorative service was held in Baghdad in his memory. Prime Minister Yasin Pasha Al-Hashimi published a eulogy in an Arabic daily newspaper in which he praised the late Eskell's character, culture, his outstanding personality, his vast knowledge, sense of duty and the proper fulfilment of that duty no matter how great the sacrifice was in time or in life. He said that the stupendous efforts which had been exerted by the deceased in regulating and establishing on a solid footing, the affairs of the Kingdom of Iraq during the mandatory regime, will be remembered by future generations.

All leading Arabic daily newspapers similarly eulogized the late Sassoon's character and achievements, saying that the services which had been rendered by the deceased for the welfare of his country will immortalize his great name, adding that his death was an irreparable loss to the nation.