Samir Sumaidaie

Samir Sumaidaie returned to Iraqi public office after decades in exile, principally in London. An opponent of Baathist rule, he participated in opposition conferences and helped establish the Democratic Party of Iraq in 1993. After Saddam Hussein’s overthrow, he joined the Governing Council and chaired its media committee. ¹

Sumaidaie served as interior minister in 2004 and then as Iraq’s permanent representative to the United Nations. He moved to Washington in 2006 and presented ambassadorial credentials on 20 May, becoming the first fully accredited Iraqi ambassador there after the 1991 rupture. ^{1, 2}