In November 1923, King Faisal appointed al-Askari to be prime minister of Iraq. Faisal wanted a strong supporter of the king to be prime minister during this key time when the Constituent Assembly opened in March 1924. The dominant issue during this assembly was the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty the British were pushing to help legitimize their League of Nations-appointed Mandate of Iraq. Many Iraqis were opposed to the treaty and it did not look like it would pass. But then High Commersioner Percy Cox threatened to fulfill the British Mandate in a different way unless it was passed. After the passing of the treaty in the Constituent Assembly, al-Askari resigned as prime minister as he did not really enjoy the job and felt he had accomplished what he needed to.