Here's a look at the life of the Prime Minister of Iraq, Nuri al-Maliki.

Personal: Birth date: July 1, 1950

Birth place: Hindiya, Iraq (some sources say Hilla)

Birth name: Nuri Kamil al-Maliki

Marriage: Married

Children: four daughters and a son

Education: Usul al-Din College, B.A., Islamic Studies, 1973; Salahaddin University, M.A., Arabic Literature, 1992

Religion: Shiite Muslim

Other Facts: Prono: NOO-ree al-MAA-lick-ee

Changed his name to Jawad al-Maliki while he was in exile.

Negotiated with Sunnis and Kurds to help draft Iraq's constitution.

Previously an advisor to former Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari.

Directed activists in Iraq during his exile in Syria and Iran.

Timeline: 1968 - Joins the Dawa Party.

1979-1980 - When he is sentenced to death for opposing Saddam Hussein and the Baathist party, al-Maliki flees Iraq and finds refuge in Iran and later Syria.

2003 - Returns to Iraq from Syria.

2003-2004 - Member of the de-Baathification Commission, which worked to rid former Baathists from Iraq's military and government.

January 2005 - Is elected to the new parliament as a member of the Dawa Party and serves as the head of the Security and Defense Committee of the National Assembly.

April 22, 2006 - Is chosen by the Shiite-dominated coalition United Iraqi Alliance to replace Interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari. He has one month to form a government.

May 20, 2006 - Iraq's new government is sworn in, with 37 cabinet members and al-Maliki as prime minister.

July 26, 2006 - Addresses a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress on the war in Iraq.

October 27, 2006 - Meets with U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, telling him he considers himself "a friend of the U.S., but [he's] not America's man in Iraq."

January 2, 2007 - States in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, "I wish I could be done with it even before the end of this term.. I didn't want to take this position... I only agreed because I thought it would serve the national interest, and I will not accept it again."

March 3-5, 2008 - Meets with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Baghdad.

June 7, 2008 - Arrives in Iran to talk with top Iranian officials about issues including alleged Iranian-backed insurgents.