BAGHDAD - Former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki remains a potent force in Iraqi politics despite long-standing accusations that he fuelled sectarian strife and failed to stop Islamic State from seizing large areas of the country a decade ago.

As leader of the influential State of Law, a Shi'ite Muslim coalition, he is seen as having enough clout to decide who will become Iraq's next prime minister after a parliamentary election on November 11.

Maliki, in his mid-70s, was pressured to step down in 2014 by an unusually broad array of critics -- the U.S., Iran, Sunni leaders and Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric -- after Islamic State's rapid territorial gains in 2014.

His divisive years as premier were blamed by many Iraqis for fostering sectarian strife between majority Shi'ites and minority Sunnis, while chronic problems like joblessness, poor public services and graft were left to fester.

MALIKI SIGNED SADDAM'S EXECUTION ORDER

Yet despite the criticism, Maliki -- a shrewd political operator -- staged a comeback in the years that followed, quietly building influence through ties to armed militias, the security services and the judiciary, analysts say. 

His political roots stretch back decades, shaped by opposition to Saddam Hussein’s authoritarian rule and a long exile that forged his ideological convictions.

Sentenced to death under Saddam for his role in the outlawed Shi'ite Islamic Dawa Party, Maliki spent nearly 25 years in exile, mostly in Syria and Iran, agitating for the dictator’s downfall.

Like many exiles, he returned to Iraq after Saddam’s fall — the end of a Sunni-led regime that had long oppressed Shi'ites and Kurds.

Maliki signed Saddam's execution order in red ink, paving the way for masked gunmen to place a noose around his neck and pull a lever that quickly ended his life.

Maliki, a friend of Shi'ite power Iran, had fulfilled his life-long goal of wresting power from the country’s Sunnis, but h...