Iraqi Governing Council

An advisory body created by the U.S. Coalition Provisional Body, the Iraqi Governing Council advised the CPA and other stakeholders, such as UN Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, on governamce questions, debaathification, and forming the Interim Iraqi Government. It was formed in July 2003, and had 25 members:
 * 13 Shia
 * 5 Sunni Arabs
 * 5 Sunni Kurds
 * 1 Sunni Turkoman
 * 1 Assyrian Christian

The transition to a sovereign Iraqi Government would take another 11 months, when the Interim Iraqi Government (IIG) assumed political authority from the CPA. While the IIG would be sovereign, there still would be a major and dominant US troop presence that would not withdraw fully from the cities until 2009.