The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) was a U.S.-led transitional authority that served as Iraq's interim government from May 21, 2003, until its dissolution on June 28, 2004. It exercised executive, legislative, and judicial powers under UN Security Council Resolution 1483 (2003) and the laws of war, following the U.S.-led invasion and the fall of Saddam Hussein's Ba'athist regime. The CPA appointed an Iraqi Governing Council with limited powers and oversaw reconstruction efforts, though it was subject to at least 27 criminal investigations for fraud, waste, and abuse according to its inspector general's report. Although led by the United States, the CPA was not a U.S. federal agency but a multi-national coalition exercising temporary governmental authority.