| |
| 1925, March |
| |
| Conclusion of an oil concession with the Iraq Petroleum Company, a British firm that was to develop the oil fields around Mosul. The company received the concession on favorable terms extending over 75 years. Production began in 1927, but royalties to the government did not become significant until the 1950s. | 1 |
| |
| 1926, June 5 |
| |
| Anglo-Turkish Treaty, which awarded most of the region surrounding Mosul to Iraq. Included in the Iraqi territory was the biggest prize, the northern oil fields near Kirkuk. | 2 |
| |
| 1927 |
| |
| First development of the Kirkuk oil field. | 3 |
| |
| 1929, Oct. 3 |
| |
| Appointment of Sir Francis Humphreys as British high commissioner. | 4 |
| |
| Nov. 13 |
| |
| Suicide of prime minister Abd al-Muhsin al-Sa‘dun, a pro-British politician, because of his government's frustrating inability to negotiate a new treaty with the British. In the transformed political atmosphere afterward, Nuri al-Sa‘id came to power as prime minister for the first time. In what became a trademark of his political style, he immediately imposed restrictions on the political opposition and press. His government then undertook a new round of negotiations with the British which eventually bore fruit. | 5 |
| |
| |
