Ayad Allawi was born to a prominent merchant family in Iraq where he studied at Baghdad Medical School and graduated from Baghdad University with MBChB. He also completed his MSc at London Medical University and his PhD at Medicine Guys Hospital, London University. He was politically active since 1968 founding the Iraqi National Accord (INA) in opposition to Saddam’s regime and survived several assassination attempts, one of which left him hospitalised for nearly two years yet he remained politically active. As a result of the attack, Allawi was unable to practice rheumatology but instead initiated private trade and worked at the UNDP, UNICEF and WHO. Allawi continued being politically active working against Iraq’s dictatorship and for internal regime change. In 2004, Allawi served on the Governing ouncil and was unanimously elected by it to become Iraq's first post-war Prime Minister. He held both executive and legislative powers, conducted the first elections which were fair and transparent and transferred power peacefully in 2005. In 2010,
Allawi won the elections despite gross fraud. He still leads the INA, a national political party that promotes a civil state serving democracy and stability in the wider Arab and Islamic region. Allawi is well engaged in Middle East and was appointed the First Deputy-Chairman of the Arab and International Relations in 2011.
Furthermore, he has supported many international institutions being a trustee of the
American University of Iraq, led an Islamic Summit Conference in Malaysia and is the co- president on the International Human Rights Committee. In addition, Allawi
holds memberships in a number of associations and has contributed to numerous studies in the forms of research, books, journals and news articles. Allawi currently leads Watania Coalition, a national cross-sectarian political bloc.
