Samir Sumaidaie
Samir Shakir Mahmoud Sumayda'ie (Samir Sumaidaie) is an Iraqi politician and was the Iraqi ambassador to the United States. He was born in Baghdad in 1944[1] and left Iraq in 1960 to study in the United Kingdom where he obtained a degree in electrical engineering from Durham University in 1965[2] and a postgraduate diploma in 1966. He returned to Iraq in 1966 but left again for the UK in 1973 after Saddam Hussein seized power. He returned to Baghdad and was appointed member of the Iraq Governing Council in July 2003. He was appointed as Iraq's Ambassador to the United States in April 2006,[3] after previously serving as the Iraq's Permanent Representative[4] to the United Nations (from August 2004), and prior to that, as Baghdad's Interior Minister. He is secular and rejects any sectarian label.
Ambassador Samir Sumaidaie | |
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سمير الصميدعي | |
Ambassador Sumaidaie meeting US President George W. Bush. | |
Iraqi Ambassador to the United States | |
In office April 2006 – 19 December 2011 | |
Succeeded by | T. Hamid al Bayati |
Iraq's Permanent Representative to the United Nations | |
In office August 2004 – April 2006 | |
Member of the Governing Council | |
In office July 2003 – 28 June 2004 | |
Preceded by | Council created |
Succeeded by | Council dissolved |
Personal details | |
Born | 1944 (age 75–76) Baghdad, Iraq |
Alma mater | Durham University |
Profession | Diplomat, Politician |
During his years of exile, based in London, and traveling in the Mid- and Far- East, He was a leading figure in the opposition to Saddam's regime and helped form a number of political groups.
In July 2005 Sumaidaie demanded an inquiry into the fatal shooting (which he has described as "cold-blooded") of his cousin during a routine house to house search by US Marines in Iraq.
In November 2007 he visited The Fletcher School at Tufts University where he gave a speech on the history and current situation in Iraq.
In March 2010 he visited the renowned Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University[5]
References
- "Family Tree - The Cobbold Family History Trust". family-tree.cobboldfht.com. Retrieved 2019-04-05.
- "Iraqi Ambassador talks to Durham students". palatinate.org.
- "Rice Welcomes Iraq's First Ambassador to U.S. in 15 Years". noticias.info. Archived from the original on 9 July 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
- "H.E. AMBASSADOR HAMID AL BAYATI". un.int. Archived from the original on 22 August 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
- http://www.elliottschool.org/events/calendar.cfm?fuseaction=ViewMonthDetail&yr=2010&mon=3#1166
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Samir Sumaidaie. |
- The Ambassador speaks about cultural heritage at the Penn Museum on YouTube
- The Washington Diplomat Newspaper - Ambassador profile
- Official bio
- BBC News: Iraq envoy accuses US of killing, July 2005
- CNN interview with Sumaidaie: Marines shot my cousin, May 2006
Political offices | ||
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Preceded by Nuri al-Badran |
Iraqi Minister of Interior April 2004–June 2004 |
Succeeded by Falah Hassan al-Naqib |