Republic Day

Republic Day recalls 14 July 1958, when a military movement overthrew Iraq’s Hashemite monarchy, killed members of the royal family and proclaimed a republic. The change ended the constitutional monarchy established during the British-mandate era and brought Brigadier Abd al-Karim Qasim to power. The anniversary is historically important but inseparable from political violence and from later struggles over the meaning of the 1958 revolution; a neutral guide should record the constitutional change without romanticising the killings or any subsequent government.

July 14 is not listed among the permanent nationwide holidays in Iraq’s Official Holiday Law No. 12 of 2024, and the Central Bank’s federal 2026 calendar does not list it. It should therefore not be presented as an automatic federal closure. The Kurdistan Regional Government does include the anniversary in its regional calendar and issued a specific decision closing KRG institutions on 14 July 2026. That distinction matters for workers and travellers because federal offices outside the Kurdistan Region may operate normally.

The holiday’s modern status is consequently regional and announcement-dependent. The KRG order is authoritative for its ministries and institutions, while private employers and federal bodies require their own schedules. The title ‘Republic Day’ describes the state transformation of 1958; it is separate from Iraqi National Day on October 3, which recalls formal independence and League of Nations membership in 1932.