Who Is Iraq's 'Person of the Year' For 2015?

She has most definitely helped in preventing laws that could potentially violate human rights in Iraq. Interestingly, al-Damluji is married to an individual who was a member of former, much-criticised Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's State of Law party. But this has not affected her support for a balanced and impartial media and her support for civil society actors.

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani

Al-Sistani is one of the most senior clerics within Islam and is followed and respected not just by millions of Iraqis, but by millions of Shiite Muslims around the world. Over the past year al-Sistani has had more of an influence on Iraqi politics than he normally would, given that he follows the quietist tradition where clerics prefer not to interfere in political matters.

In the recent past though al-Sistani has done everything from prevent former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki being able to continue in power to calling up volunteer militias to fight against the extremist Islamic State, or IS, group, to ameliorating neighbouring Iran’s political influence in Iraq.

His positions are characterised by moderation and he deals with major political events wisely. He has distanced himself from the sectarian attitudes that are threatening the country and has been vocal about the need for dialogue with Sunni Muslims in Iraq. During popular protests in Baghdad in mid-2015, al-Sistani declared his support for the demonstrators even though some of these were members of the local Communist party who had placards saying that local politics were being hijacked by religious MPs.