Dr Awn Hussein Al-Khashlok
President of Al Khashlok Group
Founder of Al-Baghdadia Media Group
Dr Awn Hussain Al Khashlok was born in 1961 in the town of Qalat Sukkar, which is in the Dhi Qar Governorate. He is the third son of Haji Hussein Al-Khashlok, an Iraqi merchant who belongs to Bani Umair tribe, and he is one of the well-known tribes of Rabia. His father, Hussein Al-Khashlok, was one of the well-known merchants of the south, and he was the first source of grains and dates to the Gulf states at that time.
Haji Hussein owned a fleet of river ships operating in the southern region to purchase all kinds of grains and dates that were exported to the Arab Gulf countries, and this trade was prevalent in the region. At the end of the sixties, he established the Al-Khashlok Contracting and General Trading Company, which carried out many works, extending roads and building hospitals, schools, and river systems. With success in these ventures, the company entered the field of industry, predominantly the construction industry and real estate investments in Basra and the southern region.
Awn Al-Khashlok left Iraq in 1979 to complete his studies, where he obtained a bachelor’s degree and then a doctorate in Civil Engineer. Awn from his young age was accompanying his father in his daily work and trade until he left Iraq early after obtaining a preparatory certificate in 1979 to study abroad on his father’s expense.
Besides completing his studies in civil engineering, he continued to work in trade and construction between the European Union countries in which he resided and the Gulf states.
In 1989, after the political changes in the countries of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, Awn Al-Khashlok was one of the active businessmen in the fields of investment and trade, as his activity expanded to include Western European countries (the United Kingdom, the United States, Africa, the Middle East, and Turkey). He founded and contributed to various commercial and industrial activities, real estate investments and financial institutions.
He worked in Iraq, especially in the north from 1993 to 2003 in the fields of trade, industry, and real estate construction, contributing to the development and progress of the region.
At the end of 2003, after the invasion, Dr Al-Khashlok returned to Iraq to offer the experience he has amassed into rebuilding and developing Iraq. He developed a series of designs for various important projects and he was first to present a project establishing a telecommunications company specialized in the field of mobile phones. Due to the corruption that had already began to take root and the intervention of the occupation authority and those working with it, he was unable to pursue this scheme. After spending a lot of time, effort, and funds to start these projects, he chose to put them on halt and found the “Al Furat” newspaper, the first independent Iraqi newspaper, free after the occupation.
With Al Furat, as well as establishing multiple charities and foundations, in and outside Iraq, he provided for families in need and the treatment of patients, especially children, throughout the siege that the Iraqi people witnessed. His new goal was to establish an Iraqi media edifice that would be a model for free media in monitoring and diagnosing the new experience in Iraq to secure the gains of the Iraqi people. It would protect the people from the deviation towards the dangerous goals of perpetuating the occupation, dictatorship, sectarianism, and the spread of corruption in a new country. In 2005, he took his vision a step further with the founding of Al-Baghdadia.
He supervised the establishment of its speech and editorial policy, through daily directing to produce her political programs that always used the upheld the highest levels of professional journalism. His aim was for Al-Baghdadia to be unaffiliated with any party or political bloc, unlike the other satellite channels in Iraq.
The time and effort from Dr Awn to monitor, follow up daily and ensure everyone’s voice is heard is a price that is worth paying to ensure the people of Iraq have their spirits revived. He must ensure that the tribal and authentic values of Iraq and its history are robust in this unstable climate. At the same time, he is striving to ensure Iraq is not left behind in the modern technological era and moves forward with the rest of the world; this is a key purpose for Al-Baghdadia.
Dr Awn’s vision can be summarized in the fact that the economic development, construction, and social welfare of a country is the only indication of political success. In addition, a country that enjoys freedom, true democracy, a balanced political approach, respect for human rights, and advanced systems in care, health, and education are key pillars to achieve this feat. Dr Awn does not fear any threats, whether from terrorists or political blocs. This is a joint collective effort to build Iraq, determined to liberate it from personal interest and corruption. The ultimate goal is for the Iraqi people to see their country rich in its wealth as one of the modern developed countries in education, health, social welfare and construction.
He is married to an Iraqi woman, with two sons and three daughters, who reside between London, Athens, and Geneva.
