Owing to security concerns, the current Embassy, a former school, is now situated in the "international Zone" which contains a number of Government and diplomatic buildings, the Embassy was opened in 1st of July 2004

History of the former British Embassy

When British forces entered Baghdad in 1917 led by General Maude, they took over some buildings on the west bank of the Tigris in Karkh. These were purchased in1921 and 1922 at a cost of £164,640.

The main building was probably built around 1875 and was known as the Khadim Pasha’s Palace, after the brother-in-law of the last Sultan of Turkey who resided there as a political detainee. It was purchased by Sir Arnold Wilson to provide offices for the High Commissioner, Sir Percy Cox. It has remained in British hands ever since becoming the Embassy building when Iraq entered the League of Nations in 1932.

The Embassy compound has a turbulent history: the Residence was destroyed by a fire in 1958 and rebuilt in 1970. In 1969 it was besieged by a group of Iraqis.

In the 1980s, the Embassy was completely refurbished, retaining all its original features such as the vaulted sirdabs (cellars), the honey-coloured brickwork from which layers of paint were blasted away and the marble fountain in the centre of the inner courtyard. However, high floodwater damaged the wall that separated the Embassy from the river and British consulting engineers were called in to advise. They recommended remedial work to the wall but the Gulf War and its aftermath made the work impractical. In the 1990s there was a danger of the Embassy sliding into the Tigris. The British Embassy in Baghdad closed on 12 January 1991.