Iraqi beauty pageants

There are a number of Iraqi beauty pageants. Miss Iraq is one of the national beauty pageants in Iraq. Others include Miss World Iraq and Miss Earth Iraq.

Miss Iraq Organization

Logo for Miss Iraq in English, Arabic, & Kurdish
Formation	1947
Type	Beauty pageant
Headquarters	Baghdad
Location	Iraq
Membership	Miss Universe Miss World Miss Earth
Official language	Arabic Kurdish English
Director	Ahmed Laith Salman
Website	missuniverseiraq.com missiraq.net

History

Renee Dangoor, an Iraqi Jew, won the first title of Miss Iraq in 1947.

In 2015 the first season after 43 years absence, the official national beauty contest of Iraq recognized by Ministry of Culture, Tourism & Antiquities has been held in Baghdad.^[1] The Miss Iraq titles set to be three categories which are Miss Iraq, Iraq's Maiden of Beauty and Mesopotamian Princess.

The pageant is organized by a group of civil activists, leaders from the beauty/fashion community and with the support of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism & Antiquities of Iraq.^[2]

In 2016, Miss Iraq Organization sent Miss Mesopotamia 2015 winner Susan Amer Sulaimani (Noori), a Kurdish student in Baghdad to participate in the Miss Earth 2016 pageant as Iraq's first representative since 1972 in the Big Four international beauty pageants.^[3][4] She wore a dress instead of a bikini during the pageant's press conference.^[3]

National franchise holders

In the late 2010s, Miss Iraq returned and debuted to the several international beauty pageant, such as Miss Earth in 2016 and then Miss Universe in 2017.^[5][6]

Titleholders

Year	Miss Iraq	Governorate
1947	Renée Dangoor	Baghdad
1962	Kholoud Saleh	Baghdad
1963	Sameera Zeidan	Baghdad
1971	Nasik Shali	Sulaymaniyah
1972	Wijdan Burhan El-Deen Sulyman	Baghdad
2015	Shimaa Qasim[7]	Kirkuk
2017	Sarah Idan	Babil
2021	Maria Farhad[8]	Nineveh Plains
2022	Balsam Hussein[9]	Baghdad

International competition

The following women have represented Iraq in the international beauty pageant which included Big Four international beauty pageants;^[10][11] Miss World, Miss Universe, Miss International and Miss Earth,^[12][13][14] as well as other international platforms.

Miss Universe Iraq

•   : Declared as Winner
•   : Ended as runner-up or top 5/6 qualification
•   : Ended as one of the finalists or semifinalists
•   : Ended as special awards winner

Year	Governorate	Miss Iraq	Placement at Miss Universe	Special Awards	Notes
Did not compete since 2023—present
2022	Baghdad	Balsam Hussein[15]	Did not compete		The Miss Iraq org. decided to send Hussein to Miss Universe 2022 but due to franchise matter, she decided to withdraw from the competition and will be competing at Miss World 2023 instead.
Did not compete between 2018—2021
2017	Baghdad	Sarah Idan	Unplaced	Best National Costume (Top 16)
2016	Kirkuk	Shimaa Qasim	Did not compete		Due to personal reasons, Qasim withdrew at Miss Universe 2016 although her preparation has fit to her for upcoming Miss Universe.
Did not compete between 1973—2015
1972	Baghdad	Wijdan Burhan El-Deen Sulyman	Unplaced

Miss World Iraq

•   : Declared as Winner
•   : Ended as runner-up or top 5/6 qualification
•   : Ended as one of the finalists or semifinalists
•   : Ended as special awards winner

Year	Governorate	Miss Iraq	Placement at Miss World	Special Awards	Notes
2023	Baghdad	Balsam Hussein[16]	Unplaced
Miss World 2021 was rescheduled to 16 March 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in Puerto Rico, no edition started in 2022.
2021	Nineveh	Maria Farhad[17]	Unplaced	Best Designer Dress Award (2nd Runner-up)
Did not compete between 2018—2020
2017	Halabja	Masty Hama	Did not compete
Did not compete between 1999—2016
1998	Baghdad	Ban Kadret	Did not compete		Due to sanctions placed on Iraq, Kadret withdrew because of a disagreement between Eric Morley and the Miss Iraq organizers.

Miss Earth Iraq

•   : Declared as Winner
•   : Ended as runner-up or top 5/6 qualification
•   : Ended as one of the finalists or semifinalists
•   : Ended as special awards winner

Year	Governorate	Miss Iraq	Placement at Miss Earth	Special Awards	Notes
Did not compete since 2023—present
2022	Wasit	Jihan Majid[18]	Unplaced
2021	Diyala	Sima Mohamed[19]	Did not compete
Did not compete between 2017—2020
2016	Baghdad	Susan Amer[20]	Unplaced
Did not compete between 2010—2015
2009	Baghdad	Aure Arnulf	Did not compete

Miss Sulaymaniyah Iraq

•   : Declared as Winner
•   : Ended as runner-up or top 5/6 qualification
•   : Ended as one of the finalists or semifinalists
•   : Ended as special awards winner

Year	Name
2021	Rayan Ali[21]