The University of Baghdad has officially adopted March 2, 1908 as its founding date, based on the decision of the University Council at its sixteenth (extraordinary) session and following the approval of the Opinion Committee of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. This landmark decision affirms the historical continuity of Iraq’s oldest institution of higher education and reflects the authenticity of the academic heritage upon which the University was established.
This decision crowns the efforts made by the Deanship of the College of Law through official correspondence, the translation of historical documents, and the preparation of scholarly and legal evidence that strengthened the historical foundation on which the decision was based. It also reaffirms the established status of the College of Law as the mother college of the University of Baghdad and the first institution of higher education in Iraq.
The decision is based on the establishment of the School of Law on March 2, 1908, which later became the College of Law. As the first institution of higher education in Iraq, it marked the beginning of the academic journey that eventually developed into the University of Baghdad. Accordingly, this date replaces the previously adopted founding date, providing formal recognition of the University’s deep-rooted historical and academic origins.
Under the decision, March 2 will be officially recognized as the University of Baghdad Day and will be incorporated into the University’s emblem, official correspondence, website, and digital platforms. It will also serve as the official date for the University’s graduation ceremonies, further strengthening its institutional identity and reflecting its academic legacy spanning more than a century.
Professor Ali Hadi Atiya, Dean of the College of Law, stated that adopting March 2, 1908 as the official founding date of the University of Baghdad represents long-overdue recognition of the historical legacy of the College of Law as the University’s mother college and Iraq’s first institution of higher education. He praised the decision of the Presidency of the University of Baghdad, the University Council, and the Opinion Committee of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research for reinforcing the University’s historical identity and preserving its academic heritage for future generations.