Coalition Provisional Authority
Following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA) was the organization established by the United States Government that acted as a caretaker administration in Iraq until civilian rule resumed on June 28, 2004.
Its administrator (from April 21, 2003) was Jay Garner. On May 12, Paul Bremer arrived in Baghdad as head of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), which superseded ORHA. Bremer's original deputy was Sir Jeremy Greenstock, the former British ambassador to the UN. Sir Jeremy's role was then taken over by David Richmond, a relatively junior British diplomat.
On July 22, 2003, the CPA appointed a special Iraq interim governing council made up of prominent Iraqis from various sectors of Iraqi society. Though still subject to the authority of the CPA administrator, the council had several key powers of its own. Their duties included appointing representatives to the United Nations, appointing interim ministers to Iraq's vacant cabinet positions, and drafting a constitution that will later be voted on by the Iraqi people. The presidency of the council rotated every month (see president of Iraq).
Nine months after the fall of Baghdad, Saddam Hussein was captured on December 13, 2003 outside his home town of Tikrit.
The CPA established an Iraqi Special Tribunal which will have the responsibility of trying former Ba'athist leaders, including Saddam Hussein.
The CPA was dissolved at 10:26 AM local time on June 28, 2004 and power was transferred to the Iraq provisional government.
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