This article refers to the ASU in Iraq. For sister parties in other Arab states, see Arab Socialist Union

The Iraqi Arab Socialist Union was a political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 in Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

 based on the principles of Nasserist

Nasserism

Nasserism is an Arab nationalist political ideology based on the thinking of the former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser. It was a major influence on pan-Arab politics in the 1950s and 1960s, and continues to have significant resonance throughout the Arab World to this day. It also...

 Arab socialism

Arab socialism

Arab socialism is a political ideology based on an amalgamation of Pan-Arabism and socialism. Arab socialism is distinct from the much broader tradition of socialist thought in the Arab world, which predates Arab socialism by as much as fifty years...

. It was a sister party to the Arab Socialist Union parties that sprung up in a number of Arab countries.

In Iraq, the ASU after the overthrow of the Baathists in between time of Ramadan to the revolt of President Abd al-Salam Arif preferred and only officially authorized party, but could not effectively compete with the traditionally influential parties and power groups. The Iraqi Arab Socialist Union was founded in July 1964 came on the establishment of preparatory committee also not. These committees have failed in the goal to integrate the existing parties as well as on the task that was to promote planned by Nasser and Arif gradual economic, military and political union of Egypt and Iraq. Chairman of the Iraqi ASU just the former secretary general of the Iraqi Baath Party, Fuad al-Rikabi. Iraqi ASU was the General Secretary and Information Minister Abdul Karim Farhan. Several smaller parties are dissolved and joined the IASU, the most important of these was a union with Nasser's Egypt oriented ANM. In September 1964 the Egyptian and Iraqi ASU were combined in a joint Executive Committee under Nasser's leadership.

After the coup attempts by the Prime Minister Nasser Arif Abd ar-Razzaq (September 1965, July 1966) and Abdul Karim Farhan (October 1965) and the failure of the Egyptian-Iraqi union plans was put under the Iraqi ASU in October 1966 directly to the government. A group led by al-Rikabi split then as Arab Socialist Movement (ASM) from. Arif was instead in July 1968 was overthrown by a Baathist coup military, immediately dissolved the ASU Preparatory Committee and finally ar-Rikabi were thrown into prison (where he died in 1971). As in Syria, the Iraqi Baathists 1973-1979 rival progressive and patriotic parties tied in a coalition of the Progressive National Front, a patriotic, Nasserist was a movement it anymore.