Basra Governorate
Coordinates: 30°22′N 47°22′E / 30.367, 47.367
Country	Iraq
Capital	Basra
Area
- Total	19,070 km² (7,363 sq mi)
Population (2003 [1])
- Total	1,761,000
Main language(s)	Arabic

Basra (Bassorah) Vilayet in 1897

Basra province, or Al Basrah province, is a province of Iraq, with an area of 19,070 square kilometers (7,363 sq mi) and an estimated population of about 1,761,000 ^[2] (2003). Basra ( BGN: AlBasrah also called Basorah Abillah and Uruk or IRAQ The name that British colony has adopted for Basra Area is a Quantity expressing the two- Dimensional size of a defined part of a Surface, typically a region bounded by a closed Curve. Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. Its capital is Basra City, the country's second largest city; other major cities include Corna (Eden), Az Zubayr, Umm Qasr Al Qurna and Abu Al Khaseeb. Al-Qurnah (Qurna is a small village in southern Iraq about 74 km northwest of Basra, within the town of Nahairat Az Zubayr ( Arabic,الزبير)is a sunni town in Basra province in Iraq. Umm Qasr (أم قصر also Transliterated as: Um-qasir, Um-qasser) is a Port city in southern Iraq. Abu Al-Khaseeb, sometimes spelled Abu Al-Khasib is a town in the Basrah Governorate of Iraq south of Basra. The province has international borders with Kuwait to the south and Iran to the east. The State of Kuwait ( دولة الكويت IPA [dawlatt̪ alkuwajt̪]) is a sovereign Arab Emirate on the coast of the Persian Gulf, enclosed For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics.

Provincial Government

• Governor: Muhammad Musbih al-Wa'ili [1]
• Deputy Governor: Luay al-Battat [2]
• Provincial Council Chairman (PCC): Muhammad Sa'doun al-Abadi [3]

History

After World War I

Historically, under the Ottoman Empire, Basra province included the modern-day state of Kuwait. The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish The State of Kuwait ( دولة الكويت IPA [dawlatt̪ alkuwajt̪]) is a sovereign Arab Emirate on the coast of the Persian Gulf, enclosed After defeating the Ottoman Empire in World War I, the United Kingdom combined the old Ottoman provinces (vilayets) of Basra, Baghdad and Mosul to form the state of Iraq, which Britain controlled as a League of Nations mandate. The fighting in World War I ended when an Armistice took effect at 1100 am GMT on November 11 1918 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The subdivisions of the Ottoman Empire were Administrative divisions of the State organisation of the Ottoman Empire based on military administration but A wilāyah (ولاية or vilâyet (in Persian and Ottoman Turkish) is an administrative division usually Baghdad Vilayet ( Arabic, ولاية بغداد) was a Vilayet ( Province) of the Ottoman Empire. In 1879 Mosul Vilayet (province was separated from Baghdad Vilayet. The League of Nations was an International organization founded as a result of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919–1920 A League of Nations mandate refers to a legal status for certain territories transferred from the control of one country to another following World War I. Kuwait had become a separate British protectorate shortly before the outbreak of World War I. In International law, a protectorate is a autonomous territory that is "protected" by a stronger state or entity hense the protector which engages to protect

After the Baath regime

A proposal to join Basra with the neighbouring governorates of Dhi Qar and Maysan to form a southeastern state in an eventual Iraqi federation is currently under discussion. Dhi Qar (ذي قار is a province in Iraq with an area of. In 2003 the estimated population of the governorate was 1472000 people Maysan (ميسان is one of the Governorates of Iraq. It is in the east of the country bordering Iran. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A new law, passed by the Iraqi Parliament in 2006, allows for the merger of two or more provinces as of April 2008. The Council of Representatives of Iraq (مجلس النواب العراقي Majlis al-Nuwwāb al-ʿIrāqiyy) is the main elected body of representatives in Iraq

On the 9th of December 2007, it was announced by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown that control of the Basra Governorate would be handed over from Coalition forces to local Iraqi control. ^[3] The province was formally transferred a week later, on the 16th of December 2007, making it the 9th such province to be transferred to full Iraqi control. ^[4]

References

1. ^ http://www.citypopulation.de/Iraq.html
2. ^ http://www.citypopulation.de/Iraq.html
3. ^ "Iraq to be given control of Basra". BBC NEWS, December 9, 2007.
4. ^ "UK troops return Basra to Iraqis". BBC NEWS, December 16, 2007.