ABSTRACT
Nizar Hamdoon was born in Baghdad on May 18, 1944, to a Sunni family with roots in Mosul. He completed Baghdad College in 1960; at the age of fifteen, he joined the Baath party. In 1967 he received his bachelor's degree in architecture and town planning from Baghdad University and did his military service as an air force architect. In November 1983, he was sent to Washington to head the Iraqi interests section. He became Iraq's ambassador to the United States in November 1984 when the two countries resumed full diplomatic relations. As Nizar oversaw the North American desk, that meant he handled minor-league matters like the anti-sanctions group, Voices in the Wilderness. The fact that Saddam Hussein remained on the loose when he met meant that Nizar was both fearful and still burdened with a sense of loyalty to his old patron. Nizar Hamdoon died on July 4, 2003, in New York after a long battle with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
