Hassan Nemazee

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Hassan Nemazee is a multimillionaire Iranian-American investment banker and a major contributor to the Democratic Party. Nemazee was born in Washington, D.C. on January 27, 1950 and attended Landon School, graduating in 1968. He received his AB degree with Honors from Harvard University in 1972.

In the world of New York's top donors, Nemazee is one of the biggest gets. During the 2004 US Presidential Elections, Nemazee was a supporter of John Kerry and a major contributor to his campaign. He was the New York Finance Chair for the Kerry campaign and has been named the "top fundraiser and donor to the Democratic National Committee for the past 10 years." Nemazee is the national finance chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. [1]. With Nemazee as the national finance chair, Chuck Schumer's DSCC in 2006 raised $115 million, outpacing the NRSC by substantial sums and thus helping Dems take control of the Senate. [2]

During his presidency, Bill Clinton attempted to name Nemazee U.S. Ambassador to Argentina. Attempts to spoil Mr. Nemazee's nomination were led by a former business partner calling for an investigation of Mr. Nemazee's business record. Forbes magazine published an article based on the former business partners complaint. In fact, two years prior, Mr. Nemazee won a $4.5 million settlement in the New York Supreme Court against the same former business partner. [3] According to the New York Times he withdrew. [4]

In 2004 Nemazee filed a ten-million-dollar damage claim against the Student Movement Coordination Committee for Democracy in Iran (SMCCDI) and its coordinator, Aryo B. Pirouznia for accusations by the group that Nemazee is an agent of the Islamic Republic of Iran. [5] Under oath he testified that he raised more then $500,000 for the Kerry campaign, but that he also disagreed with Kerry pursuing nuclear negotiations with Iran were he to become president. He also stated that he welcomed regime change in Iran. After the 2004 elections, Pirouznia ceded to Nemazee’s demands and the lawsuit was subsequently settled.^{[citation needed]}

Nemazee believes that he was targeted by some Republicans because of his association with the Democratic Party. "If I hadn’t been Kerry’s finance chair, I wouldn’t have been a target. I left Iran in 1978 and haven’t been back. Everything my family had was taken by the mullahs. To take someone who’s suffered at the hands of that regime and turn it on its head and say that he’s in bed with that regime is absolutely fucking incredible," said Nemazee in an interview with New York Magazine. [6]