the arab socialist ba'ath party (also spelled ba'th or baath, "resurrection" or "renaissance"; "hizb al-ba'ath al-'arabi al-ishtiraki"), also called the pro-iraqi ba'ath movement, is a ba'athist political party headquartered in baghdad, iraq. it is one of two parties which formed in 1966 after split of the original ba'ath party. they ruled iraq between 1968 and the 2003 invasion of iraq.